- 25 mins
- 45 mins
Ingredients
- For Soup:
- 1 14.5oz can of tomato sauce (pureed tomatoes)
- 15oz can of fire roasted tomatoes
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 large clove of garlic, smashed and minced
- 2 stalk of celery, diced
- 10 baby carrots, chopped
- 6 ounces fat free cream cheese
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 Tbsp fresh basil, plus extra to garnish
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- For Mozzarella Balls:
- 10 cubes of mozzarella cheese
- 2 egg white, whisked
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
- cooking spray
Preparation
Step 1
For soup:
Saute chopped onions, celery and carrots in 2 Tbsp oil until tender. Once tender, add garlic and saute for about a minute or so to bring out the flavor. Season with salt and pepper.
Next add tomatoes, tomato sauce, cream cheese and broth and let simmer for 25 minutes, until the vegetables are tender and the flavors have shacked up together. Taste for seasoning and add more salt, pepper, and the sugar. Next add your basil. Then puree using a hand held immersion blender until fbisque-like. Serve in soup bowls with a sprinkle of fresh basil on top.
For the mozzarella balls:
While waiting for the mixture above to simmer for 25 minutes preheat the oven at 425 degrees. Set up 3 separate bowls with egg, flour, and italian seasoned bread crumbs. Next, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and remove frozen mozzarella from freezer. (Do not take out before now, you will want the cheese to remain frozen for as long as you can.) Be sure to dip the frozen cheese in the flour, then the egg, and finally cover it in bread crumbs.
Place on baking sheet and repeat for the remaining mozzarella cubes. Spray each ball with cooking spray and bake at 425 for approximately 10 minutes. Keep a close eye on them and when they are golden brown, remove from oven.
Serve atop the bowl of tomato soup and enjoy.