Recipe - Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup

Perfect for a cold, windy, rainy day. Such like what we are having right now! Cuddle up in front of the fire with a bowl of yummy soup and warm homemade buns! Can't get much better than that!

I have done this soup with out the onions, and it is still great! I am not sure about changing the cream to a soy milk, or almond milk, if anyone tries that, please let me know. I have changed the cream to 2% milk.

So here goes. Thanks to a fellow Pea, this recipe is one that I enjoy, and have leftovers for a warm soup the following day.

Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup

1 lg can diced tomatoes (I like the Alymer accents Italian Seasonings, 540ml)
2 tbs veg oil
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced carrots
2 Tbs VE Sun-dried Tomato and Oregano OR 3 TBS dried basil
4 cups prepared VE chicken broth
2 TBS butter
1/2 cup flour
2 cups 5% cream
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 bay leaf

Heat oil in soup pot, add onion, garlic, and carrots. Saute 5 minutes.
Add tomatoes (and juice) and chicken broth.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat and allow to simmer about 15minutes.
While soup is simmering, prepare your roux. (2 TBS butter melted in a frying pan, add 1/2 cup of flour, stir to thicken) Add 1 cup soup broth to roux, whisk until smooth. Add 1 more cup to roux, stirring to keep smooth.
Add roux back into soup.
Blend in a blender, or with an immersion blender, until lumps are gone.
Stir in cream and VE sun-dried tomato and oregano dip mix (or Basil) and bay leaf.
Simmer over low heat stirring to blend as soup thickens.
This is where you can leave the soup for an hour or so, on very low heat, and come back to it at dinner time, or you can serve it as soon as you want.
Remove and discard bay leaf before serving.

Yum, yum yum.

I love this with homemade buns, or thick slices of homemade bread! Please let me know how it turns out for you!