I started making a Basil Tomato Soup recipe one summer when I had a bumper crop of tomatoes. It refers to canned tomatoes, so if you didn’t can your own, use cans of whole tomatoes from the grocery store.

Tomato Basil Soup
1-2 onions, chopped
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 tsp. dried basil
6 oz. tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 c. chicken stock
64 oz. canned tomatoes
2 c. cream

In a large pot, caramelize the onions by cooking low and slow in the olive oil. It will take 20-30 minutes for the onions to turn a rich caramel color. Stir occasionally to make sure the onions don’t burn.

Add salt, pepper, basil, tomato paste and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes. It is important to brown the tomato paste just a little to get rid of the pasty taste. Add chicken stock and deglaze the pot.

Add tomatoes and their juice. Increase the heat and bring to a low boil. Then reduce the heat to low and cook for 25-30 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Remove from heat and blend with a food processor or immersion blender until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings. Depending on the sweetness of the tomatoes, you may want to add 1-2 tsp. of sugar. I sometimes add just a dash of balsamic vinegar too.

Before serving, stir in cream (I usually use fat-free half-and-half.) It may be necessary to reheat after stirring in cream, but do not bring to a boil. Garnish with chopped basil and/or Parmesan cheese.

The recipe makes a lot of soup. However, cutting the recipe in half will leave you with half a can of tomato paste that tends to sit in the refrigerator forever or until trash day. So, I always make the full recipe and freeze half of it before adding the cream.

Then when you need soup quickly, just thaw in a microwave, add cream, reheat and serve.

One of my friends gave me a good tomato soup recipe. I don’t usually like recipes that consist of dumping together cans of this and jars of that, but this soup is pretty good and very quick.

Tomato Soup
1 family-sized can of condensed tomato soup
1 jar of marinara sauce (recommend Newman’s)
1 jar Alfredo sauce
quart-sized box or can of chicken stock

Dump all ingredients into a large pot. Bring to a low boil. Whisk as it heats to ensure the ingredients are well combined. Reduce heat to low and cook about 5-10 minutes. Taste and add salt or pepper if needed. That’s it – and it’s surprisingly good.