This soup can be made in a slow cooker.
Creamy Tomato Basil Soup
Author: Christopher Kosovich
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup finely diced celery
- 1 cup finely diced carrots
- 1 cup finely diced onions
- 28 oz can whole plum tomatoes, with juice
- 1 tsp thyme
- ¼ cup fresh basil
- 3½ cups reduced sodium chicken broth (or vegetable for vegetarians)
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp flour
- ⅓ cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
- 1¾ cups reduced fat (2%) milk, warmed
- Salt, to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat, then add the oil, celery, carrots and onions; cook 5 to 6 minutes, or until golden. Add to slow cooker.
- Pour the juice of the tomatoes into the slow cooker, then roughly crush the tomatoes; add to slow cooker.
- Add chicken (or vegetable broth), thyme, basil, and bay leaf to the slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours, until the vegetables get soft and the flavors blend.
- Using an immersion blender, blend the soup until smooth (or you can carefully do this in small batches in the blender).
- Melt the butter over low heat in a large skillet and add the flour. Stir constantly with a whisk for 4 to 5 minutes.
- Slowly whisk in about 1 cup of the hot soup, then add the 1¾ cups of warmed milk and stir until smooth. Pour back into the slow cooker and stir, add the grated Pecorino cheese and adjust salt and pepper, to taste.
- Cover and cook on LOW 30 more minutes.