30-Minute Tomato Basil Soup

Women‍‍`s Corner
December 15, 2020

Hearty yet HEALTHY tomato basil soup. The perfect soup to warm you up and keep you satisfied! Great for easy lunches and busy weeknights!

Ingredients :

- 3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil

- 2 large carrots, peeled and diced very small

- 1 large sweet vidalia onion, diced small

- 3 to 5 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed

- 1 teaspoon dried oregano

- two 28-ounce cans San Marzano tomatoes (whole, peeled, do not drain; mine were not salted)

- 1 1/2 to 2 cups water or low-sodium vegetable broth

- about 3/4 cup fresh basil leaves, packed (about 2 big handfuls), plus more for garnishing

- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste at the end

- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste

- 2 bay leaves

- 1 to 2 teaspoons granulated sugar, optional and to taste

- pinch cayenne pepper, optional and to taste

- 1/2 to 1 cup Silk Light Original Almondmilk (regular Silk Almondmilk or Unsweetened Cashewmilk may be substituted)

- croutons, optional for garnishing

Method : To an outsized Dutch oven or stockpot, add the oil, carrots, onions, and cook over medium-high heat for about 7 minutes, or until vegetables have softened and are lightly caramelized; stir intermittently. Add the garlic, oregano, and cook for about 1 minute, or until fragrant; stir frequently. Add the tomatoes, water or broth (for a thicker soup use 1 1/2 cups), basil, salt, pepper, stir to mix , bring back a boil (should only take a moment or two), then shut off the warmth . Transfer about half the mixture to the canister of a high-speed blender, cover, and blend on high power until smooth. Caution: Stop every 10 to fifteen seconds to let the steam out. If you don’t know if your blender is capable of blending hot liquids. If you've got a Vita-Mix, it fits perfectly in 2 batches. Or, use an immersion blender.

Pour the graceful mixture that’s within the blender into an outsized bowl and repeat with the remaining chunky mixture that’s within the stockpot.
Transfer the graceful mixtures back to stockpot, add the bay leaves, and simmer over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes; stir intermittently. Taste the soup and optionally add sugar (helps balance the acid of the tomatoes), cayenne pepper (does not make the soup spicy but gives it flavor), and more salt or pepper . Add the Almondmilk as desired and stir to mix. Recheck seasoning balance, remove bay leaves, ladle soup into bowls, optionally garnish with croutons and/or basil, and serve immediately.