Best Ever Stone Soup Tomato-Basil Soup

Servings: 29
Description

I recently returned from a trip to Texas, where I did what I could to help out while my dad was in the hospital for several days.  He was very ill and for several days, he was too weak to eat anything.  When he finally was able to take a little nourishment, the hospital attendant brought a tray of food that included a bowl of tomato-basil soup that actually looked and smelled really good--and evidently, it was pretty good because dad drained the bowl.  His weak and tired body finally having gotten some meaningful nutrition, eating that bowl of soup turned out to be a turning point for his recovery.  

This recipe is my tribute to that hospital soup.  It includes a quart of tomatoes that I canned with my friend Em in September and some of my pesto sauce that I made and froze when the sweet basil was at its peak in the summer.  This recipe takes 10 minutes to put together--no kidding--10 minutes--and it's so good, you'll want to make it every week.

Now--home-canned tomatoes and pesto certainly help with the flavors in this soup, but you can make a pretty darned good tomato soup using a very good brand of San Marzano tomatoes and some fresh pesto from the refrigerated section of your grocery store.  So let's get cooking! 

Ingredients
  • 1 qt San Marzano whole tomatoes
  • 1 shallot roughly chopped
  • 1 clove garlic (roughly chopped)
  • 1.5 cup chicken or vegetable stock
  • 2-3 tbsp pesto sauce
  • 2-3 tbsp butter
  • 2-3 tbsp flour
Instructions
  1. 1
    In a medium sized heavy weight saucepan, melt the butter until it's bubbly, but not browning. Add the chopped shallot and saute for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent browning. Add garlic and saute for a minute or so until the mixture is very fragrant.
  2. 2
    Add the flour and stir for several seconds to incorporate the flour and cook through.
  3. 3
    Add the stock and stir until the roux, aromatics and stock are incorporated.
  4. 4
    Add the tomatoes and heat until the mixture starts to boil. Simmer for a 4-5 minutes until the whole thing is hot.
  5. 5
    Using your handheld blender, blend the whole mixture until its smooth and creamy--maybe a minute or two.
  6. 6
    Ladel soup into bowls and drizzle a teaspoon or two of pesto sauce on top.
  7. 7
    Serve with grilled cheese sandwiches for the ultimate rainy-day comfort lunch!
Read it online: https://thestonesoupcook.com/recipe/best-ever-stone-soup-tomato-basil-soup/

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