Tomato Basil Soup

I needed a soup to take to a bread class I went to this past winter, and tomato seemed perfect to round out our soup selection. I really like a hearty soup with some texture to it.  I love making tomato soup in the early fall when the tomatoes are abundant in the garden, but in this recipe canned tomatoes work well too and still have a very rich flavor when combined with tomato paste and carrots.  It came together in under an hour, and required minimal work.  I made this the night before and reheated it in a crockpot the day of, and it worked quite well. 

Ingredients:

• 2 carrots chopped

• 1/2 large onion chopped

• 4 cloves garlic minced

• 1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste

• 1 tablespoon flour

• 4 cups veggie broth

• 1 bay leaf

• 1 tablespoon dried basil

• 10-12 whole tomatoes (skinned) or 28 can tomatoes (whole)

• 1/2 cup heavy cream (optional

Instructions: 

1. Over medium heat, saute the carrot and onion until tender and aromatic, about 5-10 minutes

2. Add the tomato paste and stir until you can see the paste stating to brown. Add in the flour and stir for about a minute.

3. Add the tomatoes, broth, bay leaf and basil to the pot and simmer for 30 minutes.

4. Puree using an immersion blender until you reach the smoothness you desire. Add in the cream if you desire, I desired.

While the last time I had this soup was in the winter, now is the perfect time to make it again!  I'm adding this to my meal plan for this week.  You don't have to serve this soup with fresh homemade bread, but it is strongly encouraged.  A pesto grilled cheese would also be perfect to dunk into this delicious soup.