Bride of Magazine Challenge: Classic Tomato Soup

So.
You know why I do so well with the March issue of Everyday Food for the Magazine Challenge?  Because I'm home and can plan for making things that might take a little longer than usual, and because the number of meals I'm making suddenly doubles.  Obviously, I need to work from home to make my hobby easier to complete.
I haven't been making as much soup recently.  I don't know why not, but I haven't.  I love soup for lunch - it's quick, it's easy, and there are so many varieties.  I was a little confused as to why there would be both oil and butter in the recipe, but the roux is what helps thicken this up and make it more like the tomato soup that we know from a can.
But it's better than the can - it's not as sweet.  And there's more texture.  And flavour.  Have I sold you on making it yourself?  I hope so.
I present to you now from the March 2006 issue of Everyday Food, Classic Tomato Soup:

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 c flour
3 Tbsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp dried thyme
4 c chicken broth
28 oz can whole tomatoes in juice with basil
28 oz can diced or pureed tomatoes

Method:
1.  In a large pot, melt butter with oil.  Add onion and cook until translucent.  Season with salt and pepper.  Stir in flour and tomato paste.
2.  Add thyme, broth, and tomatoes.  Break up whole tomatoes with the back of a spoon.  Bring soup to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes; stirring occasionally.
3.  Using an immersion blender, puree soup in the pot leaving some texture.  Season with salt and pepper before serving.

From Everyday Food, March 2006

I liked the use of tomato paste in the soup.  It adds some deep tomato flavour.  I think, however, my pan was too hot.  I had some burning on the bottom.  I think it happened when I was making the roux.  But it didn't affect the flavour of the soup - I discovered the burnt spot when I was putting the leftover soup in a container for the fridge.

I love my immersion blender.  I probably made the soup more smooth than the original.  But I didn't want any onion pieces left.  It had some texture, but was pretty smooth when I was done, and it took no time at all.

But it was a delicious lunch - and the leftovers were just as good.  A small sprinkle of Parmesan, and it was fantastic.