Cream of Tomato Basil Soup

By Shawn

Barefoot Contessa Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 T. olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped red onions (2 onions)
• 2 carrots, unpeeled and chopped
• 2 T. minced garlic
• 5 large fresh or frozen from the garden tomatoes, chopped
• 1 T. tomato paste
• 1/4 cup packed chopped fresh basil leaves
• 3 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 1 T. sea salt
• 1-2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup heavy cream

Preparation

Step 1

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy pot over low heat.
Add the onions and carrots and saute for about 10 minutes, until tender. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, chicken stock, salt, and pepper. Bring this to a boil, and then lower the heat to simmer uncovered, for 35 minutes, until the tomatoes are very tender. Place an immersion blender into the pot and blend well. Using a sieve/strainer, pull out any large unwanted chunks of anything. Blend in the cream. Reheat the soup over low heat. Garnish with basil leaves.