Tomato Basil Soup

Last week, the boyfriend wasn't feeling so great for a few days. What's better to eat when you are feeling under the weather than soup? Tomatoes were on sale at the grocery store, so tomato soup was born!

This recipe calls for peeled tomatoes, which made me scratch my head. I literally peeled 10 tomatoes with a vegetable peeler - not easy, and not fun. Afterwards I did a little research and found a much easier way to do things.

To peel a tomato, score the underside with a big "x". Plunge the tomato in boiling water for about 10 seconds, remove, and place in an ice bath for 30 seconds. Remove from the water. You should be able to easily remove the skins by pulling upwards from the flaps!







Tomato Basil Soup
Adapted from Martha Stewart Living
2 tbsp Olive Oil
2 Carrots, peeled and chopped
3 Celery Stalks, chopped
2 large Onions, chopped
10 tomatoes, peeled and seeded
1 Can Tomato Paste
1 tbsp dried Basil
Salt and Pepper
Heat olive oil in a saucepan butter over medium heat; add onion, carrots, and celery. Saute until onion becomes translucent, but not brown (5 min).
Add tomatoes and simmer, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes start to break down, about 2o minutes.
Season - add salt and pepper, basil, and tomato paste. Mix well.
Depending on how chunky you want your soup, you can now puree all or some of the soup to the desired consistency. Use an immersion blender or just a regular blender. If you use a regular blender like I did, blend the soup in sections (not all at the same time), returning the blended liquid to the pot until you reach the creaminess you want.