Cream of Fresh Tomato Soup

serves 5 or 6

From Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics. This is a great soup to make in September when there are still tons of vine-ripened tomatoes in the market and you've eaten your fill of tomato salads. Serve with your fave grilled cheese or the accompanying Parmesan Toasts.

3 tablespoons good olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped red onions (2 onions)
2 carrots, unpeeled and chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
4 pounds vine-ripened tomatoes, coarsely chopped (5 large)
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 cup packed chopped fresh basil leaves
3 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup heavy cream
Julienned fresh basil leaves, for garnish
Parmesan Toasts (recipe follows) or croutons

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-low heat. Add the onions and carrots and saute for about 10 minutes, until very tender. Add the garlic and cook for I minute. Add the tomatoes, sugar, tomato paste, basil, chicken stock, salt, and pepper and stir well. Bring the soup to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 30 to 40 minutes, until the tomatoes are very tender.

Add the cream to the soup and process it through a food mill into a bowl, discarding only the dry pulp that's left. Reheat the soup over low heat just until hot and serve with julienned basil leaves and/or Parmesan toasts.

Note: There are several ways to puree a soup - in the food processor, in a blender - but for this soup, I prefer to use a food mill which strains out the skins and seeds but keeps all that full, rich tomato flavor. I finish each serving with a sprinkling of sea salt.

parmesan toasts
 makes at least 20 toasts

This is a great way to use up leftover or frozen French bread. The toasts can be made a few hours in advance and can be re-crisped for a few minutes in a warm oven.

1 French baguette
Good olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (For this recipe, the Parmesan is best grated on a box grater)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Slice the baguette diagonally into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Make as many slices as you like to serve with the soup.

Place the slices on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.  Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sprinkle a thick layer of grated Parmesan on the toasts and bake for 5 to 10 minutes, until the toasts are lightly browned. Cool to room temperature.