Creamy Tomato Basil Soup
A tomato soup so creamy and delicious you'll never reach for a can of "Campbell's" again! Using evaporated milk instead of heavy cream reduces the calories and fat while maintaining a hearty richness! Goes great with a grilled turkey and cheese!
Ingredients
-
2 tbs butter
-
1 tsp olive oil
-
1 medium onion - chopped
-
3 cloves garlic - crushed
-
2 (14.5 oz) cans whole tomatoes - drained
-
6 cups tomato juice
-
4-6 tbs granulated sugar
-
2 tsp chicken soup base (or 2 cubes bullion)
-
1/4 tsp black pepper
-
to taste sea salt
-
1 cup evaporated milk
-
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
-
Optional garnishes (per bowl)
-
1 tsp chiffonade of fresh basil
-
1 tsp chopped fresh parsley
-
3-4 seasoned croutons
-
2 tsp shredded mozzarella or parmesan
-
couple dashes Tabasco sauce
-
drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
-
pinch cayenne powder or smoked paprika
Cooking Instructions
-
1
Melt butter with olive oil in a 3 to 4 quart stock pot over medium heat. Add onions and garlic. Sautee until onions are translucent. About 5 - 7 minutes.
-
2
Transfer onion and garlic to blender. Add drained cans of whole tomatoes. Cover and pulse until you have a coarse puree. Note: You may want to vent the lid slightly so steam doesn't pop the lid off.
-
3
Transfer puree back to stockpot over medium high heat. Add tomato juice, soup base and 3 tbs of the sugar. Taste and add up to 1 more tbs sugar at this time. Note: The sugar is used to help cut the acidity of the tomatoes. The acidity of tomatoes can vary from batch to batch so always start low when adding the sugar.
-
4
Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer uncovered for 20 - 25 minutes to reduce slightly (about the consistency of a thin gravy). Taste soup after it has reduced. Add pepper, salt to taste, and up to 2 tbs more sugar as needed/desired (I normally use the full 6 tbs).
-
5
Reduce heat to low. Once soup has stopped bubbling stir in evaporated milk until well incorporated. Then stir in chopped basil. Cover and let sit about 5 minutes for flavors to blend.
-
6
Dish up and garnish with any combination of suggested garnishes above.
-
7
Alternate version: For a smoother consistency, before adding evaporated milk carefully run soup through a fine mesh sieve to remove all the solids. Return to pot, then add evaporated milk and basil as in step 5.
Reactions
Written by
Comments