Homemade Tomato Basil Soup

 

Make a simple homemade tomato basil soup using 2 pounds of fresh picked tomatoes along with some onion, garlic, fresh basil and a good blender. Yum!

I looked out my back window this morning and was elated to see clumps of bright red growing among the tall vines in our garden. The tomatoes are ready! The tomatoes are ready! With an abundance of juicy ripe tomatoes right now, it is literally the BEST time to incorporate them into meals. There is just no comparison between a tomato in your grocer’s aisle in January and a fresh picked one from your local farmer or backyard this time of year. Late summer tomatoes  are bursting with flavor and there are so many ways to enjoy them!  They can be sliced, chunked, canned, pureed, boiled, sautéed, roasted, chilled or dried.

Today I’m going to show you how make a simple homemade tomato soup using 2 lbs of fresh picked tomatoes along with some onion, garlic, fresh basil and a good blender. Have you ever sipped homemade tomato soup? You might only be familiar with the condensed stuff in a can,  but the fresh version tastes amazing and isn’t full of hard-to-pronounce words designed to maximize shelf life. This homemade tomato soup is pureed enough for little ones and still pairs great with grilled cheese. It can even be prepared and  frozen to give you a taste of summer all year long! I’m also going to show you how to make some quick and yummy homemade croutons to serve on top of the soup for some crunch. Once I learned how to make these croutons (so easy!), I seldom buy prepackaged. Just like with tomato soup, nothing compares to homemade.

Come on in to my kitchen!

Start by sautéing one small sweet onion and four small garlic cloves in about 3 T. olive oil on medium high heat until they are brown on the edges and softened. Set them aside.

Next, pick two lbs of fresh tomatoes from your garden or purchase them from your local farm market. Two pounds is equivalent to about four large tomatoes.

Rinse off the tomatoes and using a small knife, carefully cut out the only inedible part of the tomato – that green top. There is no need to remove the seeds or core them.

In your blender, put the tomatoes, one 6 oz. can of tomato paste, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp. dried dill, 5-6 leaves of fresh basil and your sautéed onions and garlic.  The tomato paste helps to thicken the tomato soup.

The secret ingredient to this soup is fresh grated nutmeg. You will not regret it! Using a microplane, grate 1/4 tsp off of a nutmeg. If you only have the pre-ground nutmeg counterpart on hand, it won’t taste quite as good, but it will do. Next time you visit the spice aisle, promise me you’ll get whole nutmeg for your kitchen cupboard?  🙂

Press start and blend on high speed until have a puree with no visible chunks. I’m using a Blentec blender with an actual soup button. Ninety seconds later, I have a beautiful tomato puree that is almost ready to eat!

Pour your puree into a large stockpot and add 2 cups of quality vegetable broth.  My favorite is herb infused vegetable bouillon made by Rapunzel. Good stuff! I  buy it on Amazon. Bring the soup to a small simmer for about 10 minutes

If you love basil, add a bit more chopped up while the soup is simmering along with more salt and pepper to taste.  Did you know basil comes in different colors? I grew this purple basil in my garden this year. Isn’t that pretty?

On to the simple homemade croutons! Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Cut up pieces of French bread and put them into a bowl. I buy those bags of day old bread from the bakery for less than a dollar. They are already sliced so all I have to do is chop them into smaller pieces.

Sprinkle a generous amount of olive oil on top of the bread, some kosher salt and cracked black pepper. Stir it all together and then spread the bread pieces onto a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, flipping the bread halfway through. The croutons are done when they begin to lightly brown and you hear a crunch when you tap them with your spatula. Remove from the oven and let them cool.

Simple, healthy and delicious homemade tomato soup with homemade croutons. It’s a taste of summer you’ll come back for year after year. Enjoy!

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