Quick Tomato Soup

On cold and snowy winter days, soup is always a great choice.  Here’s a quick an easy homemade option.

QUICK TOMATO SOUP

Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion – chopped
1 medium garlic cloves (or more) – minced
Good quality pink or Kosher salt
A pinch of red pepper flakes
5 Roma tomatoes – chopped (keep the juices if possible)
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 1/2 cups chicken broth or stock
1/2 cup heavy cream
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Optional garnishes:
Parmesan cheese – freshly grated
4 fresh basil leaves – julienned

Add the olive oil and the tablespoon of butter to a heated pot or Dutch oven on top of stove.  Saute’ the onion until soft.

Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and saute’ for 2 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and cook until they fall apart, about 15-20 minutes.  Once that happened, add the chicken broth and black pepper and use an immersion blender to blend everything together (can also be added to upright blender in batches).
Remove from heat. Add the heavy cream and mix.  Garnish, then serve.

Serves 4 small bowls or 3 larger.