Creamy Tomato Ackee Soup {Vegan}

A creamy soup that is: dairy free, full of flavour and easy to make even on a weekday?

If you’re thinking yes please! This creamy ackee tomato soup is just for you.

Take me straight to this amazing recipe

I was never a fan of soup growing up, it was in fact my least favorite thing about Saturdays aka soup day in Jamaica 🙄. As I got older and cooked for myself more, my soup consumption was limited to two occasions:

1. If I was sick or
2. If it was cold (the only exception being if I could get my hands on some proper mannish water – a broth like soup made from goat)

So as the Divine master architect would have it, I ended up being responsible for making the soup of the day for the duration of my summer internship in Beaver Creek, YT. I learned that not only do I make some pretty awesome soups but that soup was not that bad after all. One of my fondest memories was going for a late night cup of tea in the staff meal house and finding a coworker cozied up to a bowl of my Creamy Chicken Chowder; he then explained that he had hid the soup in the back of the fridge and was so glad that no one else had found it, he’d been craving it his entire shift and it was so comforting like having a “bowl of mom’s hugs” ☺️ (awe, so sweet)

Now that I live in New England, soup is a matter of survival 😆I know that that sounds way more drastic than it needs to. All I’m saying is, there are just some days that only soup will do the trick. I am all for long simmered soups with layer upon layer of flavour built in. However, the reality is that both the hubby and I work (sometimes 10 hour plus days at that) and a home cooked meal that can quickly happen while we unwind from the day is a must.

This soup fits that bill! It’s a modification of my Lazy Girl Pumpkin Soup which I like to make when I’m in Jamaica from a starchy, deeply orange pumpkin for maximum flavour.

For me this version is perfect as is with a crusty loaf for dunking, whereas the hubby likes pasta added along with bacon or sausage to make it heartier.

The key to making soups like this with few ingredients and a short amount of time is to use the best quality ingredients you can get your hands on, that way you can be assured of maximum flavour with minimum effort. For example I used a can of crushed tomatoes that had basil added in for an additional layer of flavour but no extra work on my part. Now not all canned tomatoes are created equal and some can taste very “tinny” and far from yum, so I reiterate, go with the best you can get your hands out, even if it means it will be a tad pricier, the flavour will be worth it in the end.

Update (09/25/2018): Earlier this month, Web and I vacationed in Santorini. The food was AMAZING, not to mention their tomatoes. Because the soil is rich and they have very little rainfall it results in a tomato that is full of intense flavour. A far cry from the watery tomatoes that seem to stalk the supermarket shelves here in Windsor, CT. This is why I usually default to a high quality canned crushed tomato because believe it or not, it’s usually better than fresh (sad, I know). The only exception being when I can get nice heirloom tomatoes from the farmer’s market. Anywho, back to Santorini, we took a cooking class while there and one tip we learned that I’d like to share is taking a juicy fresh tomato and grating it on the shredding side of a box grater to use instead of canned tomatoes. Most of the skin will come away from the tomato and you’ll be left with crushed pulp which is just what you need for this recipe. So if the tomatoes are the bomb where you’re from, use fresh instead of canned!

What would you add if anything to make it your own? Let me know in the comments section below.

If you make this or any of the recipes from this site, be sure to #amazingackee and @amazingackee so that I can see your posts across social media.

Until next time, thanks for stopping by 😊

Creamy Tomato Ackee Soup (Vegan)

Chantal

An easy creamy ackee soup with a tomato base. Ready in less than 30 minutes, a cozy warm up for fall and easy enough to be made on a weekday.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course Main Course, Soup

Cuisine American, caribbean, jamaican

Servings 4 6oz Portions

Ingredients

  

• 2 tsps Fennel seeds
• 2 tsps Coconut oil
• 2 tbsps Onion chopped
• 2 cloves Garlic thinly sliced
• 1 to 2 tsps Scotch bonnet pepper minced, optional
• 3/4 cup Canned crushed tomato with basil (Or equivalent amount fresh tomato grated on shredding part of box grater)
• 1 can Ackee drained (approximately 2 cups boiled and drained)
• 2 cups Vegetable stock up to 4 cups if desired
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Optional garnish:

• Basil chiffonade (leaf rolled up and cut into thin strips)
• Coconut milk

Instructions

 

• Heat a heavy bottomed dutch pot over medium-high heat and toast the fennel seeds till fragrant - about 1 minute. Once toasted remove from pot and set aside a teaspoon of the fennel seeds for garnish.
• Return the pot to the heat and add the coconut oil, then add the onions and cook for about a minute.
• Next, add the garlic, toasted fennel seeds and scotch bonnet pepper if using, cook for another minute or two till the garlic and onions have softened.
• Turn down the heat to medium and add the crushed tomatoes, cook for 5 to 7 minutes stirring occasionally to prevent the tomatoes from sticking to the pot.
• Add the ackees and cook for about 3 minutes till they are heated through.
• Pour the mixture into a food processor and puree till smooth.
• Return puree to pot: For a completely smooth soup, pass the mixture through a sieve, if you don’t mind a few bits you can pour the puree straight back into the pot - depending on how powerful your food processor is, some of the fennel seeds may have escaped the blade.
• Add stock and simmer 10 to 15 minutes. If you want the soup to be thinner add up to 4 cups of stock.
• Pour into serving bowls and garnish with a drizzle of coconut milk and a sprinkle of the fennel seeds and basil leaves.
• Enjoy!

Notes

For a truly decadent soup: replace half the stock with coconut milk.

Oh snap! what’s that? Bonus recipe: