husband wants tomato basil soup

[pjw]

I have never made homade tomato soup and my husband really wants tomato basil soup. Can anyone help?

[Chris in NM]

Hi pjw! Welcome to Nancy's Kitchen! My name is Chris and I am a moderator of several sections on this board. I posted a tomato/rice soup recipe just down from your question. You could leave the rice out and add more basil to taste. Voila'! Tomato basil soup. Good luck!

[ndouglas]

Hello PJW,
I am Nancy, I have a fantastic recipe that I found from the food network, it's from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook:

3 pounds ripe plum tomatoes
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 tablespoon of Kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 cups chopped yellow onions
6 cloves of garlic...minced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 (28 oz) canned plum tomatoes, with their juice
4 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1 quart of chicken stock or water

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Toss together the tomatoes, 1/4 cup olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread the tomatoes in 1 layer on a baking sheet and roast for 45 minutes.

In an 8 quart stockpot over medium heat, saute the onions and garlic with 2 tablespoons of olive oil,the butter, and red pepper flakes for 10 minutes, until the onions start to brown. Add the canned tomatoes, basil, thyme, and the chicken stock. Add the oven-roasted tomatoes, including the liquid on the baking sheet. Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for 40 minutes. Pass through a food mill or strainer using the coarsest blade on the food mill. Taste for seasoning. Serve hot or cold.

Hope you enjoy!