Tomato Basil Gnocchi Soup

Valentine's Day. Helen and I don't celebrate it in any way that a greeting card company would recognize. No flowers — Helen says flowers in February are a scam because they've been shipped from Ecuador and they'll die in three days and she'd rather have a plant she can put in the garden in May. No chocolate — we have maple candy, which is better. No dinner out — we haven't eaten at a restaurant in two years because Helen says restaurant food is the amount of butter we use in a month, which is probably true and also the point of restaurants.

What I did: I made Helen's favorite meal. Not a fancy meal. Not the kind of thing you'd see in a magazine. Helen's favorite meal is tomato soup — real tomato soup, made from our canned tomatoes, with onion and garlic and a touch of cream — and grilled cheese sandwiches. That's it. That's the height of romance in the Bergstrom household. Tomato soup and grilled cheese on a Tuesday night in February with Frost asleep by the stove and the wind howling outside and the woman you love sitting across the table, dipping her sandwich in the soup the way she's been doing since 1981, and you think: this. This is everything. This is the whole thing.

The grilled cheese is not complicated: good bread, good cheddar, butter on the outside. You press it on the griddle and wait. The bread gets golden. The cheese melts. The sandwich becomes more than its parts. That's alchemy. That's love. That's grilled cheese.

Helen smiled when I set it in front of her. Not the big smile — the small one, the one that's just for me, the one that's been mine since 1978 when I was a shy veteran at a church supper and she was a nurse who let me be quiet and never asked me to be anything else. That smile is worth more than Ecuador's entire flower supply. Don't tell Helen I'm being sentimental. She'll say I'm getting soft. I'll say I've always been soft. She'll say that's not true. We'll both be right.

Sarah announced she's pregnant. The second baby. Due in May. Helen got the call and I heard her make the sound she makes when she's trying not to cry from happiness, which sounds like a very quiet hiccup. I shook my head and smiled. Six grandchildren, come May. The farmhouse is going to need more chairs.

February 14th. Tomato soup. Grilled cheese. A baby coming. A woman across the table who still smiles at me like that. Happy Valentine's Day.

That night called for something that felt like tomato soup but was worth the occasion—the baby news, Helen’s quiet hiccup, all of it deserving a little more than a can and a can opener. So I made this instead: tomato basil gnocchi soup, which is tomato soup the way a slow February evening is just a Tuesday. Here’s how it goes.

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 30 min | Total Time: 40 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
1 can (28 oz) whole peeled or crushed tomatoes (home-canned works beautifully)
2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon dried basil, or a small handful of fresh
Salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 lb shelf-stable or refrigerated potato gnocchi
Fresh basil leaves, for garnish

For the grilled cheese (per sandwich):

2 slices sturdy sandwich bread (sourdough or white pullman)
2–3 oz sharp cheddar, sliced or grated
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

Instructions

Soften the aromatics. In a large heavy pot over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook 1 minute more until fragrant.
Build the soup base. Pour in the canned tomatoes, crushing any whole tomatoes with the back of a spoon. Add the broth, sugar, and dried basil. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the flavors have come together.
Blend until smooth. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup directly in the pot until completely smooth. Alternatively, carefully transfer in batches to a blender. Return to the pot over low heat.
Add cream and gnocchi. Stir in the heavy cream. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Add the gnocchi directly to the simmering soup and cook 3–4 minutes, until the gnocchi float and are just tender. Do not overcook.
Grill the cheese. While the gnocchi cook, heat a griddle or cast iron skillet over medium-low. Butter the outside of each bread slice. Layer cheddar generously between the unbuttered sides. Place on the griddle and press lightly. Cook 3–4 minutes per side until deep golden and the cheese is fully melted. Rest one minute before cutting.
Serve. Ladle the soup into wide bowls and top with a few fresh basil leaves. Serve the grilled cheese alongside for dipping. Eat at a small table while the wind howls outside.

Nutrition (per serving, soup only)

Tomato Basil Gnocchi Soup — The Meal That’s Worth More Than Ecuador’s Flowers