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Tomato Soup with Herbed Croutons

tomato soup.
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In the space of about 40 minutes you can make both the soup and the croutons. Start with the soup and while it simmers prepare the croutons or, if time and resources are scarce, use your favorite store-bought croutons instead.

Ingredients

Scale

For the Soup

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • ½ medium yellow onion, diced
  • 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
  • 28 ounce can whole tomatoes, preferably San Marzano
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • ½ tablespoon chopped parsley
  • ½ tablespoon chopped basil (see note)
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt (see note)
  • Grated Parmesan cheese for garnish

For the Croutons

  • ¼ of 12 inch of a loaf of soft French bread, cut into 2 inch cubes
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

Make the Soup

  1. Heat the olive in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook them until they start to soften, about five minutes or so.
  2. Add the tomatoes (plus the juice). Break them up with a spatula and give it all a good stir. Add the chicken stock and vinegar. Increase the heat until the soup starts to bubble, then reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Let the soup simmer for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Puree the soup and then serve.

Make the Croutons

  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
  2. While the soup simmers, make the croutons. In a large bowl, combine the olive oil, herbs, and salt. Add the bread cubes and gently toss them in the oil until lightly coated.
  3. Spread the cubes in an even layer on a sheet pan. Bake the croutons until they turn golden and have dried out, about 15 minutes. Let them cool for a few minutes.
  4. While the croutons cool, add the fresh parsley and basil to the soup. Puree the soup until smooth (see note).
  5. Serve the soup with croutons and grated Parmesan cheese.

Notes

Good basil is hard to find during the winter, so I buy the tubes of pureed basil. Look for them near the fresh herbs in the produce department. Start with a teaspoon of salt, but be sure and give the soup a taste at the end. Depending on your tastes, you may want to add a pinch or two more.

An immersion blender makes pureeing a soup easy work, but if you need to use a stand blender be sure to let the soup cool before blending. Otherwise you risk a soup explosion and no one wants to clean soup off the ceiling.

Nutrition

Find it online: https://www.girlgonegourmet.com/tomato-soup/