Creamy Tomato Basil Soup, With A Little Surprise!

Walking Through the Bible in One Year —
Bringing the Story to Life
Week 4 reading plan per day:
Monday (Exodus 13-15) Tuesday (Ex. 16-18)
Wednesday (Ex. 19-21) Thursday (Exodus 22-24)
Friday (Ex. 25-27) Saturday (Ex. 28-29)
Sunday (Ex. 30-32)

Tomorrow starts the 4th week of our reading plan, working through the entire Bible in a year. If you are just starting out – join us! No worry, just click on the WORD POWER tab and you will see the weekly reading plan starting with week one. Jump right in and let the blessings roll!

When my husband was a boy he lived just about 3 miles down the road from where we live now.  As the story goes his family lived in quite a few different houses in the area.  But one house has stood the test of time and still remains “standing” today!  We go by often and always remark about what is happening at “the house.”  Sometimes it is over-run with cattle and sometimes it just looks tired.  But last week, before the daffodils knew we had 6 more weeks of winter, this is how the old place looked.
I took this picture and made it into a Valentine’s Day card for my Valentine.  He told me that the house looks much better today than when they lived there!  🙂  Speaking of family, today I am posting the recipe for  Creamy Basil Tomato Soup in honor of my son Cory, who eats much healthier than I do and is regularly looking for great tasting recipes that are also healthy.  Well Cory, this one is for you!  Now, having said that, I have a little confession to make.  This goes “way back” when my two culinary consultants and I were talking about the benefits of adding Tofu to our menu.  The matriarch (MY dear mother) of our family said, “count me out.”  Period.  “Don’t like how it sounds, don’t even know what it looks like, don’t want it.”  Okay, fast forward about 15 years … it is the dead of winter, soup is on the menu and I have a hankering for some warm, creamy, delicious tomato basil soup.  I’ve got fresh basil (from the tube) and some tomatoes and I just need to go buy some heavy cream.  Then I start reading this article about “tofu” and how blended it acts just like cream as a thickening agent in soups and the like.  And we all know that tofu doesn’t have a taste of it’s own — so it will take on the taste of the … tomatoes, basil?  Well, I was going to the grocery store anyway and so I thought I would take a look for some tofu.  If it didn’t work out, we would just have something else for dinner.  No problem.  Cory, you will be thrilled to know that tofu added in place of cream makes a killer creamy tomato basil soup!  Healthy too!

It’s so easy, just crumble tofu in the blender, I added chicken broth as the liquid medium, and blend!  It pours out just like cream.  As a matter of fact my sweet mom came into the kitchen while I was cooking and asked what was in the blender.  I said, “um, creammmy …”  I cooked up the carrots and onions – important ingredients in this soup.  Carrots sweeten it up a bit 🙂
Moving right along I get the tomatoes and spices cooking ….
Add the tofu to the blender.  Creams beautifully.
I mix the creamed tofu into the cooked tomatoes.  Then I start adding it back into the blender.  This is the part that really makes a creamed soup outstanding!  However – BEWARE!  Let the soup cool a bit before blending.  If you try to blend ingredients that are hot it can … and will … blow the lid right off the blender and the contents will spew throughout the kitchen.  No picture here – too busy cleaning up the kitchen. 🙁
Puree the tomatoes and cream in batches and then add back into your cooking pot.
And when you reheat this soup it is out of this world wonderful.  I served it with Crispy Cheese Rounds.  Mom liked it and I think you will too!
And just in case you missed the Just In Thyme, Crispy Cheese Rounds you can click on the picture and it will take you to the recipe post.
If I never post another recipe you will know that my sweet mother killed me dead when she found out she ate — and liked! — tofu!

Many Blessings and Happy Cooking!

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

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Prep time

25 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

1 hour 10 mins

A creamy delicious tomato basil soup that is packed with flavor and healthy soy! Tofu can be creamed and will thicken the soup replacing heavy cream. A wonderful low-fat alternative!

Author: Adapted From Serious Eats

Serves: 12

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoon Extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 large carrots, diced
• 1 large White onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoon Fresh basil, minced
• 1 Large Can Tomato Sauce
• 2 Large cans Whole Peeled Roma Tomatoes
• 1 Quart Chicken Broth
• 8 oz Tofu
• Salt and Pepper To Taste

Instructions

1. In a large, heavy saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add carrots and onion and cook until beginning to soften, about 10 minutes.
   
2. Add basil, tomatoes and broth, saving 1 cup of broth aside. Reduce mixture and simmer 45 minutes.
   Using a potato masher, mash tomatoes as the mixture cooks.
   
3. While soup is simmering, crumble tofu into a blender. Add 1 cup of chicken broth and blend, pulsing off and on until a creamy mixture.
   
4. Remove soup from heat and allow to cool slightly. Add small amount of soup into creamy tofu. Pour creamy mixture back into tomato soup. Working in batches, add creamy soup mixture into blender and puree for a creamy texture to your taste.
   
5. Return creamed soup back to large pan reheating over low heat until soup is just heated through. Salt and Pepper to taste. Serve warm.
   
6. Garnish with toasted bread chunks or seasoned croutons.
   

Notes

(1) 1 pint heavy cream can be used in place of the tofu.

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