Cream Of Tomato Soup

Total Time: 1 hr 50 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 20 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 6 lbs tomatoes (roughly 20 medium-sized tomatoes)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 8 ounces sweet onions (diced)
• 14 garlic cloves (minced)
• 1 ounce fresh basil (finely chopped)
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary (powdered)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 pint heavy whipping cream

Recipe

• 1 seed and peel the tomatoes and roughly chop them. (note: peeling tomatoes is best done by plunging them into boiling water for a minute or two until the skins split. then, transfer them to an ice-water or cold water bath to stop the cooking process. it is an easy matter, then, to peel the skins off and -later- to slice them open to squeeze out the seeds.) set the seeded, peeled, and roughly chopped tomatoes to one side in a bowl so their juices do not seep away.
• 2 in a soup pot over medium heat, sweat the onions and garlic in the olive oil until the onions turn translucent.
• 3 add the thyme, rosemary, chopped basil, salt, and pepper to the onions and garlic. stir the new additions into the translucent onions and cook for 2-3 minutes to soften the dried herbs.
• 4 add the chopped, seeded, and peeled tomatoes; stir to combine and bring to a simmer. (note: depending on how much liquid you have in your tomatoes, you may need to add some water. roughly, you want enough liquid so that the long simmer will not result in burned tomatoes; about just enough liquid to mingle equally with the tomatoes, breaking them down as they cook.) lower the heat to low, cover the soup pot with a tight-fitting lid, and simmer for 45 minutes.
• 5 either scooping the tomato mixture -in batches- into your blender or using a stick (immersion) blender, puree the tomato/onion mixture until no lumps remain.
• 6 stir in the heavy whipping cream and continue to simmer, uncovered, for an additional 30 minutes or until the soup reaches its desired consistency.
• 7 garnish with a few sprigs of basil and serve.