6 servings; 10 min preparation; 30 min cooking.

Nothing feels more comforting than a delicious creamy soup. The taste of fresh homemade soup cannot compare at all with the packages you can purchase in the store. Even if you are tempted to save some time and buy a pre-made soup, give yourself a half an hour and enjoy a great meal. Once you try this soup, you will lose the thought of buying packages forever!

The soup is a perfect light entry to your dinner. Or you can eat a big bowl by itself for lunch. Either way, you will love the sweet marriage of the tomatoes and mascarpone and the freshness of the basil. And of course, don’t forget the health benefits of eating tomatoes. They reduce the risk of hearth diseases, diabetes and cancer. They are source of vitamin A, C and folic acid, which will benefit the quality of your skin and your energy level. In other words, this soup will warm you up and keep you healthy!

Ingredients

1 kg Roma tomatoes
4 small shallots, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
70 g tomato paste
150 g mascarpone

1 vegetable bouillon cube (optional)
15 g fresh basil, chopped
1 tbsp mild olive oil
salt and pepper

For the basil oil
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp smashed basil
salt

Preparation

The first step is to remove the skin of your tomatoes. It’s quite easy to do it and it takes about 2 min. First bring 1 l water to the boil. Make a cross with a knife on each tomato and put them in the boiling water for 2 min. You will see how the skin starts to peel by itself and this is the moment to remove them from the pan. Don’t throw the water away, you will use it for the soup. When the tomatoes are cooled, remove the skin and chop them. Don’t pay attention to the technique, you will blend the soup later, so the chunks will disappear.

Mince the shallots and garlic fine. In a soup pan, heat 1 tbsp of mild olive oil and fry the shallots until transparent. Add the garlic and stir for 2-3 min. Add the tomato paste and stir for a couple of minutes. Add the tomatoes and the water. Use 1 vegetable bouillon cube if you want to make the taste intenser. I left that out this time.

Bring the soup to the boil and leave on a medium heat. Once it starts boiling, use a stick blender to make it smooth. If you don’t have such, use your blender or food processor, but you will need to transfer the soup back to the pan. Add the mascarpone and stir well until it dissolves.

Chop the sun-dried tomatoes and the basil as big or small as you prefer. If you want to have some bite, chop them roughly. Add the chopped sun-dried tomatoes and keep the soup on a lower heat until it becomes thicker. Now is the time to season your soup with salt and pepper. If you do that in the beginning it might get to salty. Add the basil at the very end. Serve the soup with a drizzle of basil oil. Make the oil by smashing the chopped basil up in a mortar and pestle. Add the extra virgin oil and season with salt. It’s delicious with 1 tbsp crème fraîche. Enjoy!