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Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta Soup

Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta SoupSummer may be slipping away, but luckily sweet tomatoes are still around in great abundance at the farmer’s market.  I was a little teary when I went to pick up our CSA share at the market this week without the kids.  Every week this past summer they looked forward to market days– they loved seeing what various fruits were available and often I would let them pick out a pastry from one of the bakery stands.  Now that they’re back at school, it seemed strangely quiet without them and I missed their help with hauling back our CSA share to the car.  Last week’s share included over fifteen pounds of gorgeous tomatoes.  We made plenty of salsas and salads, but even then we still ended up with so many tomatoes leftover needing to be used.  The remaining went into a double batch of this creamy tomato basil soup which was enough for our dinner plus more to freeze.  There’s just enough cream in this soup to add a bit of richness without it becoming overly heavy.   Adding pasta makes it a bit more substantial and qualifies it as a main dish while the mozzarella and parmesan turn melty and irresistible on top of the hot soup.  It’s the perfect way to use up all of those end-of-summer tomatoes.

Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta SoupCreamy Tomato Basil Pasta SoupCreamy Tomato Basil Pasta Soup

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Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta Soup

  • Yield: 6 main dish servings

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped onion, about 2 onions
  • 2 carrots, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 4 pounds tomatoes, coarsely chopped, about 5 large tomatoes
  • 1 teaspoon natural cane sugar
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1/4 cup packed chopped fresh basil leaves
  • 2 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream or half and half

For Serving

  • 1 14-ounce package shaped pasta, cooked (fusilli, rotini, and cavatappi work well)
  • shredded mozzarella cheese
  • grated parmesan cheese
  • julienned fresh basil leaves
  • crushed red pepper

Instructions

  1. In a large heavy pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and carrots. Cook until onions soften and become translucent, about 5-7 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for an additional minute. Add the tomatoes, sugar, tomato paste, basil, chicken or vegetable broth, and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered until tomatoes are very soft, about 1 hour.
  2. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth. Alternatively, transfer the soup in batches to a blender to puree. (see note below) Stir in cream and warm over low heat until just hot.
  3. To serve, place a portion of the pasta in each bowl. Ladle soup over each. Sprinkle with a handful of mozzarella and a tablespoon of parmesan while soup is still hot. Garnish with julienned basil leaves and crushed red pepper.

Notes

soup adapted from Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics

Ina recommends using a food mill to strain out the skins and seeds. Since I don’t own a food mill, I used an immersion blender instead and found this to be sufficient in achieving a smooth puree. The key is cooking the tomatoes long enough until they are very soft.

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10 Responses to Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta Soup

  1. I want to shovel a bowl or two of this soup into my mouth right now so badly – it is positively gorgeous looking Emily! Love this, and your sweet memories at the CSA with your little ones. So sorry your buds are back in school now and making those trips feel a bit lonelier. But I’m sure their eager to help you prep all the yumminess when they get home from school! They are so lucky to eat so well 🙂 happy late summer/early fall! <3

    • Thanks for always being so encouraging, Jessie! I love the way you’ve documented your gorgeous trip and I always look forward to your posts!

  2. Hi Emily! This tomato pasta soup is so vibrant and captivating – I want nothing more than to devour the entire pot! The temperatures are slowly trending downwards here and soon our conversations will turn to nothing but soup (this is inevitable) – this is a beautiful array of ingredients and I look forward to trying it out. ♥

  4. This soup was amazing! I froze it and added the pasta after thawing it tonight. It turned out great, especially served with grilled cheese on the side.

    • So happy to hear that, Jennifer! Thanks for taking the time to let me know! Hard to beat tomato soup with grilled cheese. 🙂

    • Hi AJ, there are some brands of parmesan that are made with a vegetable rennet rather than an animal rennet. While it might not be the real deal Parmigiano-reggiano, it’s still a good option for vegetarians. I believe belgioso makes a version, as well as trader’s joe’s.