PIONEER WOMAN TOMATO SOUP RECIPE

Steps:

• To begin, dice the onion. Melt the butter in a large pot or Dutch oven. Throw in the onion and cook until translucent.
• Now dump in the diced tomatoes and stir to combine. Add the tomato juice.
• Next - and this is important - in order to combat the acidity of the tomatoes add 3 to 6 tablespoons of sugar. Now, you'll want to start on the low side, then taste and add more as needed. Some tomatoes and juice have more of an acidic bite than others. (For what it's worth, and I realize it's not worth much, I use 6 tablespoons of sugar.)
• Next, add 1 or 2 tablespoons chicken base to the pot. I added 3, and it wound up being a little too much.
• Now you can add lots of freshly ground black pepper. Stir to combine, then heat almost to a boil. Then turn off the heat.
• Add in the sherry if desired. Stir in the cream. Add the basil and parsley and stir.
• Serve the soup warm!

Steps:

• In a large pot, heat butter and oil over medium-high heat, then add onion, garlic, and carrots. Stir and cook for 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and stir it in, cooking for another 2-3 minutes. Add canned tomatoes with their juice, broth, and water. Stir together and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover the pot, and simmer for 15-20 minutes, longer if you have time. Use an immersion blender to puree, still leaving some texture to the tomatoes. Add cream, salt, pepper, parsley, and basil, and simmer for another 5 minutes. To make the croutons, drizzle crostini rounds lightly with olive oil. Place little piles of Parmesan in a nonstick skillet. Place a crostini round on top of each pile. Turn on the heat to medium. Press with a spatula as you melt the cheese into each round. When set, flip to the other side to toast. Serve soup with one or two croutons on top and a little bit of basil.NOTE: Recipe can easily be halved!