Nordstrom's Tomato Basil Soup, Small Batch

"If you don't want to make many gallons of this soup, here's a version scaled down for the home cook, adapted from Serious Eats. I use Mexican crema instead of cream, tempered with a bit of the hot soup before adding. Make sure to use dried basil, it won't work well at all with fresh because of the cooking time. Although this allegedly makes 4 servings, I got 6 generous bowls of soup."
 
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photo by KristyThe Wicked No photo by KristyThe Wicked No
photo by KristyThe Wicked No
photo by Chicagoland Chef du Jour photo by Chicagoland Chef du Jour
photo by KristyThe Wicked No photo by KristyThe Wicked No
photo by KristyThe Wicked No photo by KristyThe Wicked No
Ready In:
1hr 10mins
Ingredients:
8
Serves:
4
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ingredients

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directions

  • In a large, heavy saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add carrot and onion and cook until beginning to soften, 10 minutes, then add basil and cook until vegetables are completely soft, about 5 minutes more.
  • Add tomatoes and broth, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 30 to 45 minutes.
  • Allow the soup to cool somewhat, then purée until smooth in a blender or food processor or using an immersion blender. Strain the purée before returning to the pot for a smoother texture.
  • Add cream or tempered crema little by little over over low heat until desired texture is reached. Do not boil it! Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve warm.

Questions & Replies

  1. Can this soup be canned ?
     
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Reviews

  1. This is a very fresh tasting soup. I used San Marzano tomatoes and whipping cream. I offered homemade croutons for the kids who wanted a crunchy topping. Be sure to taste test before serving. I added approximately 2 t of salt and a generous amount of fresh ground pepper. The overall rating from the four of us was 3.5 - 5, but since I cannot give it a half star, we gave it a 4. I successfully halved this recipe and served with grilled cheese sammiches. This does make several generous bowls of soup. I would say half the recipe made 10 cups. Thanks for posting Zelz. I will be making this again! WOW, thisis even better then next day for lunch. That's it, I'm bumping it up to a 5* rating! YUM!
     
  2. This is the best tomato soup that I have ever eaten and also quick and easy to make.
     
  3. Not so good. I utilized San Marzano organic roasted tomatoes. I don't disagree that this is a fresh tasting soup. We did not eat it until the second day, per the advice of others. Although it was physically a smooth consistency, it did not have a smooth taste. It is rather acidic. If I were to make this one again (not likely), I would use butter instead of olive oil to try to improve the flavor. That's a difficult statement to make, as olive oil is predominant in our home. The good news is that I also made La Madeleine's Tomato-Basil Soup from food.com the same afternoon and it had the wonderful taste for which I was striving. La Madeleine's Tomato-Basil Soup deserves five stars.
     
  4. Fabulous! I had to substitute crushed tomatoes with basil for the plum tomatoes because that is all I had. I tasted the soup prior to adding the cream and it was deliciuous, too. Next time I will only puree half of the soup so that I have some chunks (personal preference).This was very easy and I can't think of any way to improve on the flavor. I can't comment on "next day leftovers" because there weren't any!
     
  5. I only used 1 (14.5 oz) can of chicken stock or half the amount specified by the recipe. The soup was a little runny. Tastes great tho. Thank you.
     
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Tweaks

  1. I only used half the cream just for my taste but it was still enough to be creamy.
     
  2. Fabulous! I had to substitute crushed tomatoes with basil for the plum tomatoes because that is all I had. I tasted the soup prior to adding the cream and it was deliciuous, too. Next time I will only puree half of the soup so that I have some chunks (personal preference).This was very easy and I can't think of any way to improve on the flavor. I can't comment on "next day leftovers" because there weren't any!
     

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