Tomato soup with Parmesan crisps

To make things up for being gone a long while, here’s a great recipe for tomato soup with Parmesan crisps.

This bowl of soup is restraunt quality and should be made and garnished very professionally, I mean just look at it! The Parmesan crisp is the cracker like thing at the side of the bowl, the white liquid in the center of the bowl is heavy whipping cream and on top I just sliced up some basil into ribbons and garnished the soup.

You can just make the soup with the Parmesan crisp if you want but a great impression comes with the best of work!

I don’t really have pictures for how to cut basil into ribbons but you pile a couple of basil leaves on top of each other, roll them up into a cigar, and slice the cigar into pieces with your chefs knife. Pile, Roll, Slice.

Ingredients:

• 2 (28 ounce) cans whole plum tomatoes
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon oregano leaves
• 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 carrots
• 1 onion
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled
• Salt and black pepper

1/2 cup ribboned Basil, 2 cups Parmesan, heavy whipping cream (optional)

Start off by preheating your oven to 350 degrees.

1. In a 9 by 13 inch pan, add cans of whole plum tomatoes and using a potato masher, or use a whisk like me if you don’t have one, mash the tomatoes and drain out all the liquids and preservatives in the tray.

 

2. Add peeled garlic cloves, salt, and black pepper into the pan and add only 1/4 cup of olive oil, save the other 1/4 for later. Bake pan for 45 minutes to roast tomatoes until the garlic has softened, stir occasionally.

   

  

3. In a stockpot over medium heat, sauté diced onions and carrots and cook until slightly brown

  

4. Add tomato paste, oregano, and Rosemary and stir, add broth and grilled tomato mixture and cover pan, and let soup simmer for 5-10 minutes over medium heat

   

   

5. In a blender or using a immersion/hand blender, purée the soup until smooth and chunky; not too long. Add salt and black pepper to the soup to taste

 

For the Parmesan Crisps:

Line a cookie tray with parchment paper and spread out 2 cups of Parmesan cheese on the tray, bake for 5 minutes or until cheese is crispy and hard.

  

To prepare a bowl of soup, ladle soup into bowl, break a large chunk of the Parmesan crisp and add to the side bowl. Next pour a little bit of heavy whipping cream into the center of the bowl and garnish basil ribbons on top

 

And there it is: a fancy, warm, and delicious bowl of tomato soup to enjoy with a cheesy cracker.

 

–  Chef/Author Zubair M.