Whenever it’s tomato season in Florida I make this delicious soup. There are quite a few tomato fields around and I enjoy picking them right off the vine. There is nothing like a fresh, ripe tomato, especially when you are using them on a BLT. The plum tomatoes are the best to use when cooking. They are the ones that are more oblong in shape. This recipe freezes well so you can enjoy some now and freeze the rest. I recommend the Tuttorosso brand of canned Italian tomatoes but you can use whatever brand you like. You can also omit the cream if you would like to keep it healthy.
(2) Large Onions, chopped and diced into 1/4″ pieces
(4) Garlic cloves, crushed
(2) Teaspoons of flour
(2) 28 ounce cans of Tuttorosso crushed tomatoes
(7) Fresh, ripe plum tomatoes , blanched, seeded and peeled, and cut into 1/2″ pieces
(1-2) teaspoons of fresh thyme
(3) 14.5 ounce cans of beef or vegetable broth
(2) Tablespoons of sugar
(1) Bunch of Basil, loosely chopped
(1/2) Pint of cream, optional
Pour enough olive oil in the bottom of a large saucepan to cover the bottom. Saute onions until they are translucent. Add crushed garlic and saute for 2 more minutes. Add the flour and cook for additional 2 minutes. Add all of the tomatoes ,thyme, beef or vegetable broth and sugar. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Bring to a boil and then turn down the heat and let it simmer for an hour, stirring often. Add chopped basil and add the cream, is desired. After an hour, using either an immersion blender or a regular blender, puree the soup in batches to make it smooth.
Makes enough for 8-10 large size bowls.
Kitchen of Dazz 