Sunday, December 4, 2011

homemade comfort food.

Every once in awhile i post a new recipe that is husband approved.

This one is from a friend of mine from high school, her blog is here.

Tomato Basil soup is the Bomb. yes i said it. When i was pregnant with Reid I stumbled upon this type of soup and couldn't get enough of it then and to this day I still haven't had enough. I just love it.

Honestly, back in the day i would have looked at this recipe and said it was too much work, but it's not. It was pretty easy and for the reaction of my family (and others at my house that night- my dryer was getting fixed- whole other story) well, i would have slaved away all day for the response of... 'this soup is to die for!'

here's the recipe copied from her blog and I have just added my comments :)

Tomato Basil Soup

Ingredients:
*1 1/2 pounds fresh roma tomatoes, quartered (8 tomatoes in my case)
*1/2 large yellow onion, diced
*less than 1/4 cup Arborio rice, uncooked (I found it on the bottom shelf of the rice section & this is the rice usually used for risotto)
*low sodium chicken stock (or vegetable broth for you vegetarians!), ~26 oz (I used a whole container of Swanson's version but wish I would have used 1 cup less. I'd pour out one cup and then pour in the whole container)
*olive oil
*2 good pinches of crushed red pepper flakes - I didn't use the red pepper flakes so my kids could eat it.
*3 small garlic cloves, minced
*fresh basil leaves, ~6 *** this makes it!
*1/4 cup half and half (1 part heavy cream with 1 part skim milk)
*seasoning: dried basil, salt, pepper
*good pinch of brown sugar, plus 2 tablespoons

Preparation:
*Heat a few tablespoons (a few good drizzles) of olive oil in a large stock pot. Add diced onion and cook for about 5-7 minutes, until browned.
*When onion is almost done cooking, add minced garlic, crushed red pepper flakes and pinch of brown sugar. Mix around and allow to cook for another minute or so.
*Add quartered tomatoes and chicken stock. Make sure you add enough so that it just covers the tomatoes. Bring to a simmer. Then add rice and simmer, on low, uncovered, for another 15-20 minutes until rice is cooked through.
*Once rice is cooked through, add in about 6 torn basil leaves and stir. (This is when I decided it was too brothy and removed about a cup of the broth, being careful to keep in the tomatoes and basil. This is also why I suggest using one less cup to begin with, but it's your choice. I like thicker tomato soup.)
*Transfer mixture to blender and blend until smooth. (I don't have a blender so I used a mini food processor. Our soup wasn't as creamy but Luke actually loved the texture. I am sure the blender would make it more creamy and less chunky... all based on preference;)) Return blended mixture to pot and add half and half, stirring well. Add a teaspoon (or more) of salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper (or more) and 2 tablespoons brown sugar. Stir well.
*Serve with grilled cheese sandwiches and garnish with fresh basil! Yum! :)

such a perfect cold night dinner.
enjoy,
kg:)

3 comments:

Lauren said...

So glad you liked the soup! :) It's one of my favorites, and somehow tastes so much yummier than soup from a can.

Kristen said...

Luke's still talking about it! lol! so so good:) thanks for sharing your cooking secrets:)

The Abrahams said...

Made this tonight and it turned out great! Thanks for sharing:)