Easy Tomato Soup

Fall, fires crackling in the fire place, slippers, cozy blankets and SOUP! It all goes together well, don’t you think? Soup is also a great way to get my non-veggie eater to suck down vegetables without a second thought. I mean he does get a grilled cheese to dip into the soup but I’ll take vegetables in his diet any way that I can get them! I know how easy it is to just pick up a box or can of soup (and some of them are actually reasonably clean) but there is nothing better than the homemade version. This is a super simple soup from Gwyneth’s last cookbook, It’s All Easy, that I decided to make last minute because I had everything in my pantry. The kids ate it, I ate it and some of it went into the freezer in mason jars for school lunches down the road. The Heirloom Tomato Soupthat I make is still my favorite tomato soup but heirloom tomato season isn’t very long. For this you just need a can of whole tomatoes!

Easy Tomato Soup (Serves 4)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons unsalted butter (I used salted, it was fine)

1 large onion, thinly sliced

1/2 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste

3 tablespoons tomato paste

5 large fresh basil leaves

1 (28-oz) can whole tomatoes with their juice

2 cups chicken stock

Freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup cream (optional – but SO GOOD!)

Instructions:

Heat oil and butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat.
Add the onion and salt; cover the pot and cook for 10 minutes.
Add the garlic, tomato paste, and basil leaves and saute for 2 minutes.
Add the canned tomatoes and juice — breaking the tomatoes up with a wooden spoon — and the chicken stock.
Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 20 minutes.
Using an immersion blender, blend the soup directly in the pot (or you can transfer to a blender and blend in batches).
Season with salt and pepper and stir in the cream, if using. I recommend it!