Slow-Cooker Tomato-Basil Soup with Mini Ravioli

By Hklbrries

Serve this soup with slices of toasted whole-grain bread and you won’t even miss the cheese sandwiches.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup diced celery
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1 cup diced onions
• 1 (28-ounce) can whole plum tomatoes, with juice (see note)
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 3 1/2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
• Parmesan or Romano cheese rind (optional)
• 1 bay leaf
• 8 ounces mini ravioli (see note)
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
• Salt, to taste
• Black pepper, to taste
• Grated Parmesan or Romano cheese, for garnish

Preparation

Step 1

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the celery, carrots and onions. Cook 5 to 6 minutes or until golden. Add to slow cooker.

Pour the juice of the tomatoes into the slow cooker, then roughly crush the tomatoes and add to the slow cooker. Stir in chicken or vegetable broth, the cheese rind (if using), thyme and bay leaf. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours, until the vegetables are soft and the flavors blended. Remove the cheese rind and bay leaf. Blend the soup until smooth using an immersion blender. Or, carefully blend the soup in small batches in a blender. Remove the center of the blender lid and cover the top with kitchen towel. The towel may get splattered with soup, but it will prevent the steam from sending the lid and hot soup all over the kitchen.

Stir in the chopped basil and adjust salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm while the mini ravioli cook.

Cook the mini ravioli according to package directions and then stir desired amount of ravioli into each bowl of soup before serving. Garnish with grated cheese before serving.

Notes: To use Roma tomatoes from the garden instead, blanch the tomatoes in a big pot of boiling water until the skins crack. Remove, cool and peel before adding to the slow cooker. Undercook the mini ravioli slightly to make sure that they don’t disintegrate when they are stirred into the finished soup.