Tomato Basil Soup

I mentioned a few days ago that I love basil. This is a recipe for tomato basil soup. It's a lot like a normal tomato soup, but with a little something extra special! This is a dish that I make a TON of during the summer and then freeze it. It is perfect all year long. 

For this recipe, you'll need:

About 15 pounds of regular tomatoes (Use this blog post to prepare them)

1 pint cherry tomatoes

1/2 c. chicken stock

1 bay leaf

1/2 c. basil

2 tbsp. 1% milk

2 tbsp. olive oil- divided

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1 small red onion

1 garlic clove

 While your regular tomatoes are cooking away, you need to prepare your cherry tomatoes. Also, start sauteing chopped onion and garlic together over medium heat.

 Cut each tomato in half. 

 Place on a baking sheet, toss with salt and pepper, and 1 tbsp. of olive oil. Roast on 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

 Give your basil a rough chop. No need to be too meticulous here, because you'll be blending it later. Add cherry tomatoes, cooked onion and garlic, bay leaf, basil, chicken stock, and salt and pepper. Cook on medium heat for 20 minutes.

 Add everything to the blender and blend until smooth. 

 You can make this as smooth or chunky as you like (you may not even want to blend it). I like mine pretty smooth, but with some texture. If you like that, leave about 1 1/2 cups of soup in the pot and don't blend it. Once you have your soup to the texture that you like, add back to the pot. Add milk and olive oil, stir well, and continue cooking for 10 more minutes. 

Serve with a grilled cheese or garlic bread. I hope you enjoy this soup as much as I do!