Garden Tomato Soup by Season with Spice
If you have tomato plants in your garden, you are probably on the lookout right now for anyone willing to take a few off your hands. If you don’t have any takers, don’t have room for freezing, or don’t want to start a food fight with your neighbors, then your best option to get through a bucket of tomatoes – and a bucket of other garden veggies – is a hearty, fresh Garden Tomato Basil Soup.
Ingredients:
- 6 ripe tomatoes – cut into chunks
- 3 carrots – peeled and sliced into discs
- 1 green or red bell pepper – cut into chunks
- 1 yellow onion – cut into chunks
- 5 cloves of garlic – halved
- 6-8 fresh basil leaves
- 2 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
- 2 tsp of Season with Spice's Sweet Hungarian Paprika
- Dash of Season with Spice's Smoked Serrano Chili Powder (optional)
- Dash of dried thyme
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Salt to taste
- 1/2 cup milk
- Dab of butter
- Olive oil
1. Add a few tablespoons of olive oil or coconut oil into a deep frying pan, and heat on high. When hot, toss in the garlic and onion and sauté until lightly browned. Then add in the carrot and sauté until lightly browned.
2. Add in another tablespoon of olive oil, along with the bell pepper and tomatoes. Cook on medium fire until tomatoes are softened. Turn heat off and let cool while completing next step.
3. In a large pot, combine the chicken broth, paprika, smoked serrano, thyme, and black pepper. Heat on low.
4. Add the cooked veggies into a blender, along with the fresh basil leaves. Blend on low speed to desired texture.
5. Add the blended mixture into the large pot, stir well with the broth, and cook on medium fire until soup thickens to desired texture. Then stir in butter and milk, add in more salt if needed, and cook a few more minutes.
6. Serve hot, and garnish with shredded fresh basil leaves and freshly ground black pepper. Enjoy with a side of toast or a grilled cheese sandwich.
Notes:
- You can roast the vegetables instead, but I prefer the way the garlic, onions and carrots caramelize in the frying pan and give the soup a stronger flavor.
