Home Made Tomato soup by Michael Chirello
(adapted)
Ingredients
2 (14-ounce) cans chopped tomatoes
1/2 cups extra virgin olive oil (divided into 1/4 measurements)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 stalks celery, chopped carrots, diced
1 1/2 yellow onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups chicken stock or broth
2 bay leaves
4 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves or,( 1/2 teaspoon if using dried basil)
2 cups half n half, or heavy cream
Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Strain the chopped canned tomatoes, reserving the juices, and spread onto a baking sheet, season with salt and pepper, to taste, drizzle with 1/4 cup of the olive oil and roast until caramelized, about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a stock pan, heat remaining olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the celery, carrot, onion and garlic, cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the roasted chopped canned tomatoes, reserved tomato juices, chicken broth, bay leaf and butter. Simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Add half-n-half and basil, if using.
Puree with a hand held immersion blender until smooth. Or pour into a blender small portions at a time, and blend until smooth.
Serves 4-6
*I cut the fat, significantly in this recipe. The original calls for 3/4 cup of Olive Oil & the use of heavy cream all for the original serving size of four! Wow that's a lot of fat, that I just thought was unnecessary. I also increased the amount of stock which adds flavor without fat.
I'd love to hear your feed back on this.
P.S. I topped it with home made sourdough croutons. Oh my this is good soup!
--Michele
