Creamy Tomato-Basil Soup
Creamy Tomato-Basil Soup
For a long time, if you asked me what my absolute favorite meal was, I would reply, “Grilled cheese and tomato soup,” without any hesitation. Now, I have always loved a grilled cheese and still do, with a passion, in fact. But over the years, I realized that the other half of that duo was just not holding up its end of the bargain. I would dutifully make my can of tomato soup to go with my sandwich, and while it kind of worked as a counterpoint to a perfectly toasty, cheesy sandwich, it mostly just sucked. I know this is impolitic of me, but regular tomato soup is just so boring. The terrible mediocrity of it is what made me give up on the idea that grilled cheese and tomato soup was, indeed, my favorite meal. Something that most closely resembled ketchup water had no place in any of my favorites lists.For more great recipes like this one, visit the but I'm hungry site.
Servings
1
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 large carrots, peeled and diced
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 1 tablespoon dried basil, crushed
- 56 ounce canned whole peeled roma tomatoes
- 4 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- salt and pepper, to taste
Directions
- In a large, heavy saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until hot, but not smoking. Add the carrots and onion and cook until beginning the vegetables begin to soften (10 minutes). Add basil and continue cooking until vegetables are completely soft, about another 5 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes with their juices and broth and bring to a boil. Then, reduce the heat and simmer anywhere from 30 mins to an hour.
- After the soup has cooled a bit, purée the soup with an immersion blender for about 30 seconds. If you don't have an immersion blender, a regular blender or food processor will work just fine (just be careful and work in batches so you don't get scalded, please). Stir in cream slowly, over low heat.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve warm. If you'd like, garnish with crumbles of fresh goat cheese and freshly toasted croutons.