Friday, January 15, 2010

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup with Basil Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

I love basil.   Love! Love! Love!

So much so that I am thinking about growing some.
If you know me then you will know that I don't have the greenest thumb but basil is so worth it.

And after seeing this recipe for Creamy Tomato Basil Soup with Basil Grilled Cheese Sandwiches from Food For My Family and having it call to me for a few days, I just had to go buy some.

Unfortunately I think everyone in my town had the same idea because I went to store after store looking for basil, and they were sold out. But I decided to trek on knowing that the end result would be worth it.

And it was.



If you have never made homemade soup before I beg you to try this one. It is super easy and so wonderful. Here is what you will need.



Go ahead and dice up three tomatoes and a bit of onion and when you are finished throw them in to a pot that already has a bit of oil heated up in it.



I didn't realize it at the time but this is probably a little too much onion, so don't chop up as much as I did.


Let it cook down for 5 minutes or so and then throw in 3 minced cloves of garlic.



Let it cook for just a minute to get incorporated and then throw in a can of crushed tomatoes. Check out the consistency and if you want to pour a bit of water in if it is too thick for ya.

Now let this simmer for 25 minutes and then throw in some basil.
Basil, Basil, oh how I love thee.

Now, according to the recipe, after you throw in the basil you are either supposed to use a hand blender or throw the slightly cooled soup into a blender to chop up the larger pieces of onion, tomato, etc so that the texture is more consistent. Well I had every intention of doing so with my new blender, but the blender had other plans. I plugged in the new blender, poured the soup in, and pushed the button...but nothing happened. I fiddled with it for another 5-10 minutes until I got totally frustrated.

SO, I pulled the basil back out and chopped it up and threw it back in to the soup. So this soup would be a bit on the chunky side. That would be ok, wouldn't it?

I added the cream and salt and pepper and let it cook for a few more minutes.




While this cooked down I made grilled cheese sandwiches with wheat bread, provolone cheese, and more beautiful basil.




My husband, the one who says he doesn't like soup, decided he couldn't wait for me to take a picture of this before he started devouring it.

Share this with someone you love. They will thank you for it. And you will thank the basil.

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup from Food For My Family

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 tomatoes, diced
1/4 large yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
28 ounces canned crushed tomatoes
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
1 cup heavy whipping cream
kosher salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil over medium heat. Add tomatoes and onions and cook for 5 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook for an additional 30 seconds. Add crushed tomatoes and water and simmer for 25 minutes over a medium-low heat. Add basil leaves and puree with a hand blender until desired consistency is reached. Add cream, season with salt and pepper and continue cooking about 5 minutes more over medium-low heat until soup has reached desired temperature. Do not boil.

Serve with basil grilled cheese sandwiches. Simply add fresh basil leaves to your sandwich before grilling.

Makes 6 servings.

3 comments:

  1. Basil is one of my favorite herbs. It adds such wonderful flavor to dishes. Also, it is super easy to grow. I haven't killed a plant yet. I usually grow a pot of tomatoes, some jalapeños, and basil every summer. Those are my staples. :) Sounds yummy.

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  2. Good to know that it is easy to grow. I will definitely have to start this year.

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  3. This soup looks really good and grilled cheese is my favorite sandwich. I don't like tomato soup, but I love tomato basil soup.

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