Tomato Soup w/ Sourdough Croutons
Possibly the best tomato soup you’ll ever eat.
Prep Time: 5ish min
Cook Time: 30ish min
Yield: 4-6ish servings
Ingredients
For the soup:
1 28oz can of whole tomatoes
1 medium carrot
1 medium onion
1 red bell pepper
4 cloves garlic
2 tbsp sundried tomato pesto
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1-2 cups veg stock, depending on how thick you like your soup
1 bundle of thyme
1 tsp dried basil
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp red chili flake
1 tsp pepper
For the croutons:
4 slices of sourdough bread
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
Instructions
Prep! Rough chop the onion, carrot, bell pepper. Knife cuts don’t matter (thank god for blended soups), but make sure the pieces of veg are relatively the same size so they cook at the evenly. Smash all the garlic. Tie the thyme into a little bundle using kitchen twine or extra long piece of thyme.
Melt the butter in a large pot over medium high heat. Once butter is melted, add all the veg, garlic, salt, pepper, and red chili flake. Saute for 5 min.
After the veg has sauteed for a bit, add whole can of tomatoes (juice included) and 1 cup of veg stock. Smash the tomatoes a little bit with a fork and add the thyme bundle. Cover, turn the heat down to low, and simmer for 20ish min or until all the veg can be easily pierced with a fork.
While the soup hangs out, make the croutons! Heat oven to 350°. Tear the bread into bite size pieces.
Put the bread on a sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and use your hands to toss everything together. Make sure the bread is evenly spread out on the pan, and bake until brown and crispy (10ish min).
After the veg in the soup is tender, it’s time to blend. TAKE OUT THE THYME BUNDLE BEFORE YOU BLEND!!! If you have an immersion blender, now is a great time to whip that bad boy out, otherwise just transfer the soup to any ol’ blender and blend until smooth. If you have a small blender like ya girl does, you’ll probably have to work in batches.
Transfer all the blended soup back into the pot. Add heavy cream, sundried tomato pesto, dried basil and give it a good stir. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. If the soup is too thick for your taste, add more veg stock. Simmer for 10 minutes.
The wait is over. You’ve done it. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with a generous handful of croutons. Serve it with a grilled cheese if you’re so inclined. Lick the spoon. Go back for seconds. Or thirds.