[BigV]

Tomato Basil soup serves 24

Disclaimer: I am a cook, not a scientist in the kitchen. I consider recipes guidelines, not commandments. I use approximate measurements, adjusting, tasting as I go.


first make the basil pesto

2 pounds of fresh basil
1 pound of pine nuts
2 heads of fresh garlic, peeled, chopped
1/2 pound parmesan (or mixed romano, asagio, parmesan) cheese, grated fine

2 cups olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

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Remove stems from basil, discard.
Chop leaves finely, combine with pine nuts and olive oil and cheese in blender/food processor. I use the blender, so I make smallish batches (quart at a time) and then remove it, then continue until I'm done with the basil. The pesto should be a thick paste, dark green. The oil can be used to thin the mixture, and more cheese will certainly firm it up.

I decant the mixture into quart ziploc bags (or smaller) and smooth them flat and freeze them. A couple batches carries us through a season (by batch I mean a couple of two pound bags of basil.. that's a lot of basil). For the soup, I didn't have fresh basil available in quantities greater than $4/ounce or some such insanity, so I just raided the freezer and pulled out five 3"x6" ziploc bags (snack size) of pesto to flavor the soup. Worked great.

On to the soup.

1 #10 can of tomato sauce (this is the BIG can, ten inches high, eight inches across, don't know the weight or volume)

2 regular sized cans (6" high, 3" across, not the tiny 3x1.5" cans) of tomato paste (thickens soup)

A couple cans of chicken broth

some olive oil

Some butter

salt pepper

half gallon ultra heavy cream (yes, the whole half gallon)

Into large pot, pour the tomato sauce and the tomato paste, stir until well mixed. it will be thick. Add the pesto from above. Stir on medium heat. There should be the rare bubble forming to pop the surface. This soup will scald and taste burned. Don't burn it.

Add a little chicken broth to thin it to work it nicely. Add the cream. The red tomato soup turns a rather ugly shade of green/orange when the pesto is added. The cream brightens this considerably to a cheery orange. Add enough chicken broth to make the soup thin enough to stir easily. You should be tasting along the way. Make the soup the way you like it. The salt and pepper go in about now. As the soup is nearing the end of the assembly phase, all ingredients in, and it tastes good, add some butter, quarter cup, half cup, or more, and you get a lovely glossy sheen on the soup, and a beautiful mouth feel.

I let it cool overnight (after an immediate meal with grilled cheese sandwiches). The consistency resembles pumpkin pie filling, and almost that color too, but redder. I spoon it into quart ziplocs (for individual servings, but into gallon ziplocs for family meals). I fill the ziplocs full enough to fold half over empty and have the bag be about an inch and a half high. This size/shape stacks neatly in the freezer. I get about five or six bags from this recipe.