Spicy Tomato Soup

Submitted by pammyowl

"Mixing It Up in the Italian Tradition! From Amanda and Merrill"

 

• Ready In: 1hr 20mins
• Ingredients: 9
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, peeled, halved, and sliced into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or to taste ( we started with 1/2 teaspoon)
• 2 (28 ounce) cans whole tomatoes
• 1 1⁄2 cups water
• 1⁄4 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaf
• kosher salt
• fresh ground black pepper
• creme fraiche, for garnish (optional)

directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onions and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent and very tender, about 10 minutes.
2. Stir in the tomatoes and their juices, plus the water, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the flavors have melded, about 30 minutes. (If you're in a hurry, you can skip the simmer time -- just add a bit less water.)
3. Add the basil, season with salt and pepper, remove from the heat, and let cool briefly, about 5 minutes.
4. Set a fine-mesh strainer over a large, heatproof bowl.
5. Using a blender, purée the soup in batches until smooth, removing the small cap from the blender lid (the pour lid) and covering the space with a kitchen towel (this allows steam from the hot soup to escape and prevents the blender lid from popping off).
6. Pour the blended soup through the strainer, pressing on the solids with a rubber spatula or ladle; discard the solids. Taste the soup and season with additional salt and pepper as needed.
7. Return the soup to the saucepan and reheat on medium low until hot.
8. If you choose, serve topped with a tablespoon of crème fraîche.

Reviews

[loof751]

This is a lovely soup recipe! I halved the recipe and used a jar of home-grown tomatoes that my MIL had canned and they were perfect in this. I debated on whether or not to strain the pureed soup but I followed the directions and I'm glad I did - I ended up with a wonderfully smooth and velvety soup. Nice and spicy too which we really enjoyed. Made in fond memory of pammyowl, November 2013