Tomato Basil Soup Recipe

You could quite easily use tomato juice for this rather than fresh tomatoes.

To be honest, most fresh tomatoes are a little disappointing in flavour I find - if you can get really ripe ones, then use them, but if they're those tasteless things that you find at the supermarket these days, then use either canned tomatoes or tomato puree/juice.

For the stock, you can use water that you have boiled vegetables in or chicken stock. Alternatively, use a cube of vegetable stock.

This would be one of those occasions where I would use my basil oil in the softening stage - recipe link on the Herb Recipes page.

Tomato Basil Soup Recipe
1 1/2lb (700g) fresh tomatoes - cut into quarters
OR 2 tins canned and 1 tbspn tomato puree
OR 1 1/2 pints (1 litre) tomato juice
1 medium onion - peeled and chopped finely
1 medium potato - peeled and chopped finely
1 clove garlic - peeled and crushed
1/2 pint (275ml) white stock - chicken or vegetable water
12 fresh basil leaves - chopped or 1 tspn dried
Olive oil to fry

Heat the oil in a pan and gently fry the onion, potato and garlic until soft.

Add the tomatoes and stock and bring it to the boil.

Allow it to simmer for about 25 minutes.

You can either sieve the soup or liquidise it - I prefer to liquidise, but some people don't like the pips from the tomatoes, so that's your choice.

Then add the basil and bring it back up to serving temperature.

Taste and adjust the seasoning - salt and pepper if necessary.

This soup is equally good served ice cold in the summer.

I would serve it with some hot crusty bread and butter.

Tomato Basil Soup Recipe - to Recipe Index

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