Homemade Tomato Soup

This is a repost of a recipe I have over at my other blog. As I am transferring my cooking-related posts over to this blog, I am revisiting some recipes that were so good and that I haven't made in awhile. This is one of them. It is super delicious and I will be making it again soon.

I found a new recipe for tomato soup and since I had all the ingredients in the cupboard, I decided to try it; plus it was so easy! It's a Food Network recipe by chef Michael Chiarrello, who does some great Italian dishes from his Northern California home.

Homemade Tomato Soup

1 (14-oz.) can chopped tomatoes

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 stalk celery, diced

1 small carrot, diced

1 yellow onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup chicken broth

1 bay leaf

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves (I used dried)

1/2 cup heavy cream, optional (I used whole milk)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Strain the chopped canned tomatoes, reserving the juices, and spread onto a baking sheet, season with salt and pepper, to taste, drizzle with 1/4 cup olive oil and roast until carmelized, about 15 minutes. This is what they look like when they come out of the oven. Don't skip this step! It makes all the difference in the taste of the soup.




Meanwhile, in a saucepan, heat remaining olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the celery, carrot, onion, and garlic, cook until softened, about 10 minutes (make sure the vegetables are fairly soft). Add the roasted chopped canned tomatoes, reserved tomato juices, chicken broth, bay leaf and butter (I added the dried basil at this point). Simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Add basil and cream (or milk), if using. Puree with a hand held immersion blender until smooth (you could also use a blender or a food processor.)

This soup only makes 4 servings (barely!) so I would double this recipe next time. You can freeze whatever you have left, too.

I'm linking up with Friday Potluck.