Best Company a Grilled Cheese Could Ask For

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.

Is your soup smooth now? Excellent, pour in the half cup of milk and the tomato paste, you can whisk it in or use your handy blender. Then add in your fresh herbs and additional seasoning. Start off with a little and add more until you reach your taste preference.

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!