Garden Tomato Soup with Creamy Goat Cheese
No matter how many tomato sandwiches, salads, or platters of thick, salted slices we eat, come August we can never seem to keep up with the overabundance of tender-ripe Beefsteaks, Early Girls, Cherokee Purples, and Arkansas Travelers taking up semi-permanent residence on the kitchen counter. Everyone develops a strategy for the happy problem of too many tomatoes: in some people it inspires bouts of generous and indiscriminate gift giving; in others, a frenzy of canning and freezing. This light and satisfying take on cream of tomato soup is my favorite solution.
Recipe information
Yield
makes about 2 quarts / serves 6 to 8
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Heat the olive oil and butter in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat until hot. Add the onions and cook and stir for about 10 minutes, until soft and light brown. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more, stirring constantly.
Step 2
Core and roughly chop the tomatoes and add, along with their juices, to the onions. Season with salt and black pepper to taste and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. Add the broth, bay leaves, and red pepper flakes and bring the soup to a low boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, until the tomatoes break down and the flavors meld.
Step 3
Remove the soup from the heat, remove and discard the bay leaves, and stir in the basil and goat cheese. Using an immersion blender, standing blender, or food processor, puree the soup until smooth. (If using a blender or food processor, allow the soup to cool slightly before blending in batches.) Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper, if desired.
Step 4
Serve hot with toasted baguette slices or chilled with a sprinkling of crumbled goat cheese and shredded basil, if desired.
