Nordstrom's Tomato Basil Soup, Small Batch

Zeldaz's Note:

If you don't want to make many gallons of this soup, here's a version scaled down for the home cook, adapted from Serious Eats. I use Mexican crema instead of cream, tempered with a bit of the hot soup before adding. Make sure to use dried basil, it won't work well at all with fresh because of the cooking time. Although this allegedly makes 4 servings, I got 6 generous bowls of soup.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 10 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 large carrots, peeled and diced
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1 tablespoon dried basil, crushed
• 3 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled plum tomatoes (84 ounces total)
• 1 quart chicken stock
• 1 pint heavy cream (I use Mexican crema, tempered)
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. In a large, heavy saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add carrot and onion and cook until beginning to soften, 10 minutes, then add basil and cook until vegetables are completely soft, about 5 minutes more.
2. Add tomatoes and broth, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 30 to 45 minutes.
3. Allow the soup to cool somewhat, then purée until smooth in a blender or food processor or using an immersion blender. Strain the purée before returning to the pot for a smoother texture.
4. Add cream or tempered crema little by little over over low heat until desired texture is reached. Do not boil it! Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve warm.

Reviews

[Chicagoland Chef du Jour]

This is a very fresh tasting soup. I used San Marzano tomatoes and whipping cream. I offered homemade croutons for the kids who wanted a crunchy topping. Be sure to taste test before serving. I added approximately 2 t of salt and a generous amount of fresh ground pepper. The overall rating from the four of us was 3.5 - 5, but since I cannot give it a half star, we gave it a 4. I successfully halved this recipe and served with grilled cheese sammiches. This does make several generous bowls of soup. I would say half the recipe made 10 cups. Thanks for posting Zelz. I will be making this again! WOW, thisis even better then next day for lunch. That's it, I'm bumping it up to a 5* rating! YUM!

[Dwynnie]

This soup is definitely better the second day! I would've given it 3 stars the first day (it tasted watery to me), but waited to review until I tasted the leftovers based on Chicagoland Chef's review. It is definitely 5 stars now--and I am so glad, because I love the Nordstrom soup! Thank you!