Creamy Tomato Basil Soup with Cheese Toasts
Author: Mary Ann Dwyer
Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 bay leaf
2 28 ounce cans diced tomatoes, undrained
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, chopped
For the Cheese Toasts
1 baguette, sliced on the diagonal 1/4 inch thick
1/2 cup olive oil
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
34 garlic cloves, whole
1 ball fresh mozzarella, sliced
Instructions
1. Heat olive oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, red pepper flakes and bay leaf. Cook for 5
minutes stirring often. Stir in diced tomatoes and cook for 8 minutes stirring and mashing some of the
tomatoes with the back of a spoon. Add brown sugar and the broth and bring to a boil. When soup comes to
a boil reduce the temperature and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaf. Puree the soup in small
batches in a blender or use an immersion blender. Only put small amounts of the hot soup in the blender so
as not to have hot soup exploding from the top of the blender. When you are done pureeing return soup to
the pot and add the heavy cream. Heat through. Stir in the basil and season with salt and pepper. Ladle
soup into bowls and top with a cheese toast.
2. For the Cheese Toasts: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice baguette on the diagonal. Brush the top and
bottom of each slice with olive oil and sprinkle top with salt and pepper. Arrange on baking sheet and bake
for about 810 minutes or until lightly browned. When they are done browning scrape the top of each slice
with garlic clove. Place back on baking sheet and top with small slice of fresh mozzarella. Place in oven and
continue to bake until cheese is melted.
Recipe by The Beach House Kitchen at http://thebeachhousekitchen.com/2015/03/09/creamytomatobasilsoupwithcheesetoasts/