Recipe
Jen’s Tomato Basil Soup
Creamy and satisfying, the combination of sherry and butter lend a rich flavor to this soup. Taylor’s dry cooking sherry is always in my pantry; I use it in a lot of my soups.
A favorite at our house, this soup is very easy to make if you have a blender. Before getting my Vita Mix, I used an immersion blender, and that certainly works. But if you enjoy making blended soups, at some point, consider replacing your immersion blender with something like a Vita Mix. You won’t believe how much time it saves!
The recipe calls for a grilled cheese sandwich to serve. Definitely optional, but recommended.
Overview
Tomato Basil Soup posing with friends.
Ingredients
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tsp. sugar
1 cup diced onion
½ cup dry cooking sherry
1 tsp. garlic powder
4 tsp. dried basil
2 large (28 oz.) cans diced tomatoes
Salt and pepper to taste
1 quart stock (homemade or bouillon)
1 ½ cups half and half or whole milk
Instructions
Step 1
In a large stock pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat and add the diced onions. Sauté the onions for 6-7 minutes until they are soft.
Step 2
Add the tomatoes, the garlic powder, stock, sugar, and sherry to the pot and add a good amount of fresh ground pepper. Turn up the heat to bring it to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
Step 3
Turn off the heat, add the basil and about ½ tsp. of salt and stir.
Step 4
Transfer the soup in batches to a blender and blend until smooth. (Alternatively, you can use an immersion blender, but I find that IBs rarely get soup smooth enough for me.) Rinse your pot, then return the soup to the pot.
Step 5
Bring to a simmer, turn down to low, then add the half and half or milk. Taste and adjust the salt.
Step 6
Serve with a grilled cheese sandwich.
Jen’s Tomato Basil Soup
Ingredients
- 3 T unsalted butter
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 2-28 oz. cans diced tomatoes
- 1 quart stock homemade or bouillon
- 1 tsp. sugar
- ½ cup dry cooking sherry
- 4 tsp. dried basil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 ½ cups half and half or whole milk
Instructions
- In a large stock pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat and add the diced onions. Sauté the onions for 6-7 minutes until they are soft.
- Add the tomatoes, the garlic powder, stock, sugar, and sherry to the pot and add a good amount of fresh ground pepper. Turn up the heat to bring it to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Turn off the heat, add the basil and about ½ tsp. of salt and stir.
- Transfer the soup in batches to a blender and blend until smooth. (Alternatively, you can use an immersion blender, but I find that IBs rarely get soup smooth enough for me.) Rinse your pot, then return the soup to the pot. Bring to a simmer, turn down to low, then add the half and half or milk. Taste and adjust the salt.
- Serve with a grilled cheese sandwich.