Creamless Tomato Soup

Sunday Soup

Last summer we planted about 10 tomato plants in our garden. When I canned all the spaghetti and pizza sauce as well as salsa that I wanted, I just bottled the rest as stewed tomatoes. Perfect for tomato soup. Only thing is my husband is lactose intolerant and doesn't like to eat tomato soup with dairy. Needless to say, I was pretty happy when I stumbled across this recipe that is dairy-free, yet still thick. This soup is really yummy and very flavorful and super quick to cook up. Throw in fresh basil in season and it's just about perfect!

1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 medium garlic clove, minced
1 tsp. dried basil
1 bay leaf
1 quart jar stewed tomatoes or (28-ounce) can plum tomatoes in juice
2 tsp. brown sugar (or to taste)
2 slices sandwich bread, crusts removed, torn into 1-inch pieces
1 cup chicken broth
1/4-1/2 cup cooking sherry (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Garnish:
chopped fresh basil

Heat oil in large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, dried basil and bay leaf. Cook, stirring frequently, until onion is translucent, 3 to 5 minutes.

Stir in tomatoes and their juice. Using a potato masher, mash until no pieces larger than 2 inches remain.

Stir in sugar, bread, chicken broth and sherry; bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until bread is completely saturated and starts to break down, about 5 minutes. Remove bay leaf and discard.

Add about 1 tbsp. olive oil to the soup and and process the soup directly in the pot with an immersion blender. (If you don't have an immersion blender, just use a blender, processing in batches.)

Check for seasoning and salt and pepper as needed. Serve warm in soup bowls with fresh basil, when available.

Serves 4

NOTES:This soup does not have to be dairy-free so if you still feel you want a creamier soup, feel free to add about 1 cup of whole milk or heavy cream. We took out half the soup for my husband and added cream to the rest and both tasted great!

SOURCE:Adapted from Ezra Pound Cake