Nothing is better when it’s a little chilly out than a great tomato soup with some crusty bread, or grilled cheese sandwiches. It’s like a warm blanket for your soul! This soup is fairly simple, and doesn’t take many ingredients. However, the result is like silk in your mouth. We like it so much, we will even eat it when it’s 100° in Texas. Just crank up the air conditioning (no really, we are environmentally conscious) and grab a warm blanket.

I also love making this soup for lazy reasons. Since you blend everything in the end, it doesn’t matter if your veggies are chopped in perfect looking little cubes. As long as you can get them tender, chop with abandon (not concerning your fingers though…you want to leave those in tact if at all possible).

Prep-time: 30 minutes

Cook-time: 30-60 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 – 28 oz. cans whole peeled tomatoes
• 1 bunch celery, chopped
• 1 yellow onion chopped
• 2 cups carrots, chopped
• 8 T. butter
• 5-7 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh italian parsley chopped
• 8 T. all purpose flour
• 8 cups chicken stock
• 1-2 slices bacon, chopped
• 1 T. Dried Oregano
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
• 1 t. crushed red pepper
• 5-6 sprigs fresh thyme
• 3-4 bay leaves
• 2-3 cups heavy cream
• Salt and Pepper to taste.

1) In a large stock pot, heat chopped onion, celery, carrot, butter, garlic and bacon over medium-high heat. Cook well until pieces start to tenderize.

3) Add flour and stir until well coated. Heat for another 3-5 minutes.

4) Add tomatoes with juice, parsley, basil, oregano, red pepper and chicken stock to the pot. Stir and heat thoroughly.

5) Using an immersion blender, or a regular blender in shifts, blend the contents of the pot completely, leaving no chunks. I HIGHLY recommend spending the $20 to get an immersion blender (or a “stick” blender). It definitely pays for itself between smoothies, dressings, soups, cheesecakes…you name it. It makes blending so easy. You don’t have to risk burning yourself with hot soup if you have an immersion blender.

6) Once soup is well pureed, add thyme and bay leaf. Allow to simmer on medium-low for 30-60 minutes.

7) So this next step is the only step you will hate. Using either another large stock pot, or a large mixing bowl, pour soup through a wire-mesh strainer to remove bay leaves, thyme and the gritty texture of the soup. You can skip this step, but it will have a very raw texture if you do. The flavor will be the same, but we prefer it silky smooth. Your call.

8) Whisk in cream, salt and pepper to taste.

9) Heat for another 5-10 minutes.

10) Serve topped with some creme fraiche and julienned basil to make people think your really fancy…it also really adds to the flavor. Pair with toasted cheese sandwiches or a good crusty french bread.

 

Enjoy!

– The Phoody