Tomato Basil Soup

I needed to use up my bounty of tomatoes and basil, so I made my annual end of summer soup! I like to roast the vegetables first, which adds another dimension of flavor!

10 -12 tomatoes, sliced in half

1 red bell pepper cut into chunks

1 quart chicken stock, homemade preferable but you can use a low sodium pre-made stock

1 sweet yellow onion

2 tbl tomato paste

15 fresh basil leaves (washed)

First you need to roast your tomatoes, place them on a baking sheet, and sprinkle on some sea or kosher salt, roast at 425 for about 10-15 minutes, remove and place into your soup pot (get all the juice on the sheet pan)

Next roast your onions and red bell pepper, place on the same sheet pan, drizzle with a bit of olive oil, mix well and roast for about 15 minutes, remove and add to your soup pot

Add your stock, tomato paste, salt and pepper to taste, and let simmer on low heat for about 30 minutes

Add your whole basil leaves and simmer for an additional 10 minutes

Use your stick blender to emulsify your soup, or alternately you can run it thru your food processor, it should be a smooth and creamy consistency.

Right before serving, I add about 1/4 cup of whipping cream or you could use whole milk

PLEASE JOIN ME IN THE RE-LAUNCH OF http://blissfullydomestic.com/, AN ONLINE MAGAZINE FOR ALL THINGS DOMESTIC!