Tomato Basil
Soup
Growing up, I hated
tomatoes in any shape or form – with the exception of ketchup. Actually, growing
up, I pretty much lived off of peanut butter sandwiches and chicken fingers.
Clearly my tastes have expanded since.
I was nursing a slight
hangover from the holidays when I made this the other night, something about
tomato soup and grilled cheese sounded amazing, but when does that not sound
amazing? Anyway, we managed to make it to the grocery store so I could whip up this
deliciousness. Here’s where we begin.
Don’t those veggies
look fantastic? I love fresh produce and one day I really do plan to test out
my green thumb capabilities, so I don’t have to brave the grocery store all the
time. But until then, I’m glad the store is less than a mile from my house.
Easiest way to go about this is prepping and chopping everything before you
turn the stove on so you can easily add in the ingredients when needed.
Once everything is
prepped and ready to go, grab your soup pot and throw that baby on a medium
heat. Melt the butter and sauté the onion, carrots, and garlic for about 5
minutes. Just until the carrots start to soften, then pour in the vegetable
broth and let it simmer for about 15 minutes or so, maybe up to 20.
Now you’re going to add
in the tomatoes. Side note, when I chop them up I take out a lot of the seeds.
Something still irks me about the slimy insides of tomatoes. Ask anyone, I’ll
eat tomatoes when they’re diced up, but if there is a big old slice of tomato
on my burger? Yeah that sucker is coming off. It’s gone so far that my dad will
slice up Roma tomatoes and specifically save the end pieces with no seeds for
me to eat in my salad.
Let the tomatoes simmer in the broth for about
15 minutes, you need them tender enough to be able to blend up easily.
To blend the soup I
strongly suggest using an immersion blender, these things are incredibly useful
in the kitchen and I used my a TON when I make soups and my pasta sauces. It
gives the soup a creamy texture without having to add in a lot of dairy (which
is perfect for people trying to cut back on excess fats or who can’t have
dairy). If you don’t have an immersion blender a regular blender works just
fine, but it is a bit messier and a bigger appliance to clean afterwards.
And that’s pretty much
it, let the soup simmer on a low heat for at least another 20 minutes. Really
you want to give it 30-40 minutes, taste it after 20 and see if you need to
adjust the seasoning. I usually use this time to make some grilled cheese
sandwiches to go along, because those two are peas in a pod.
Simple
Straight Forward Recipe:
7 tomatoes (medium
sized, I like the on-the-vine tomatoes they last longer and taste different to
me), roughly chopped
1 medium yellow onion,
chopped
3 garlic cloves,
crushed
2-3 medium sized
carrots, peeled and chopped
2 ½ tablespoons butter
3 ½ cups vegetable broth
½ cup milk
6 oz tomato paste
½ cup fresh basil,
roughly chopped
½ cup fresh parsley,
roughly chopped
Salt, pepper, garlic salt
-In a large soup pot sauté
onion, carrots, and garlic in the butter for about 5 minutes over medium heat
-Pour in the vegetable
broth, simmer for 15-20 minutes
-Add in the chopped
tomatoes, simmer an additional 15 minutes
-Once veggies are softened,
use an immersion blender to mix (or transfer to a blender to mix) until the
soup is smooth and all large chunks are gone
-Add in the milk and the
tomato paste, stir/mix
-Blend in the fresh
herbs along with salt, pepper, and garlic salt to taste
*Optional stir in a bit
of parmesan cheese
-Let simmer for at
least 20 more minutes, up to 40 minutes if you can last that long
-Top with more Parmesan
Cheese if desired and additional fresh basil; goes great with grilled cheese!
