High-Protein Tomato Soup with Cottage Cheese

Ingredients

• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 (28 oz) can whole peeled tomatoes
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
• Pinch of black pepper
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp dried thyme
• ½ cup fresh basil, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• ¾ cup cottage cheese, preferably full-fat
• Oil, for cooking

Instructions

1. Splash of oil in a stainless steel pot over medium-low. Stainless steel needs less heat than cast iron — if you go medium or higher, everything sticks and burns. Keep it low and let the onion soften. About 5 minutes.
2. Crush the garlic cloves by turning your chef's knife sideways and pressing down on the flat blade, then give them a rough chop. Add to the onion and cook for another 3 minutes. Don't rush it — you want it fragrant, not brown.
3. Dump in the tomatoes, broth, salt, pepper, oregano, thyme, and tomato paste. Stir it all together. Bring to a simmer.
4. Let it simmer 15-20 minutes. Then transfer it to a blender and blend until smooth. I don't trust the immersion blender trick — the regular blender works better and the extra dish is worth it for the texture.
5. Stir in the cottage cheese. Don't go crazy with it — a few spoonfuls is enough. I dumped in the whole container and it made the soup gritty. Not that I'm speaking from experience or anything.
6. Ladle into bowls. I didn't have any so I improvised with coffee cups like an animal. Use bowls. Crusty bread or a grilled cheese on the side. Or both. Because soup by itself is kind of sad.