HOT - Creamy Tomato Basil
I really enjoy making soups. I enjoy eating them even more. Lately there have been a lot of requests for soups around here and I don't mind it at all. My favorite is probably tomato, with grilled cheese or a tuna melt. I mean does it get any better than that? That is comfort food at it's best. When we were younger, Courtney and I used to live off of Campbell's tomato soup during the summer when my mom was at work. Canned soup will do in a pinch but there really is no comparison to homemade, trust me. My recipe for tomato soup is based on one that I learned years ago while working at a cafe, but I change it depending on what I have in my pantry or fridge. This is how it's done......
I started with these........
Sauté sliced onions and carrots in olive oil and add dried basil. I love the sweetness that the carrots give to this soup.
Continue cooking until vegetables are soft and starting to get a little color on them.
At this point add the chicken stock, canned tomatoes, and roasted red peppers. I think the peppers give it a nice flavor, but you can leave them out if you don't have any.
Simmer for 1-2 hours
Blend the soup until creamy. Finish with heavy cream and salt and pepper and fresh basil if you have it.
Enjoy plain or with a grilled cheese. duh.
DUNK!! This reminds me of all my Bayona friends! I made this a couple of times for family meal! Miss you guys:)
Tomato Soup
3 Onions, sliced
Small bag shredded carrots
1 TBSP dried basil
3 TBSP olive oil
3 large cans of plum tomatoes (whole)
1 small jar roasted red pepepers
1 qt. chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream (optional)
Salt & Pepper
Cold - Gazpacho
Tomatoes are everywhere this time of year, so if you are running out of ideas, its still warm enough outside to make some gazpacho. I think it's pretty easy and of of course it's quite healthy. I learned how to make this at Metro and people used to rave about it. We served it with freshly fried tortillas and crème fraîche.
Tomatoes, red onion, red pepper, jalapeño, cucumber, celery, limes, cilantro.
Layer veggies in a blender with lime juice and canned tomato juice.
I learned this trick from Chef Andy, he used to blend gazpacho with some ice to make sure it stayed extra cold.
Blend on the lowest setting so you still end up with chunks, unless you want it smooth. Then season with Maldon sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper. The key to this recipe is making sure you add enough salt, so taste it and keep adding until it's right. I also like to add a little red wine vinegar at the end. You can add hot sauce if you like it extra spicyyyy.
Gazpacho
2 large tomatoes
1 red pepper
1 cucumber
1/2 red onion
4 stalks of celery
1/2 jalapeño
Juice of 2-3 limes
3 cups tomato juice
cilantro
Salt & Pepper
I mentioned earlier that we're on a soup kick here....I'm making black bean soup for dinner and I made french onion soup last week. Click HERE for the recipe for french onion soup! yum!
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