Creamy Tomato Basil Soup with homemade vegetable stock

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Fried onion

1. 1
   Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F).

   Oven

   💡Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
2. 2
   Arrange the tomatoes in a baking pan.

   Baking pan
3. 3
   Roast the tomatoes in a hot oven (200°C / 390°F) 20 minutes, until the skin peels off. Peel and save the juices.

   OvenBakeware

   💡Give it room in the pan: crowded vegetables steam instead of browning.
4. 4
   Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium heat.

   StovePot
5. 5
   Add the onion and fry 5–8 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and translucent and starts to turn golden at the edges. If it browns too fast, lower the heat.

   Stove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
6. 6
   Add the garlic and fry about 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

   Stove

   💡Garlic burns quickly and turns bitter. Add it only after the onion has softened, over medium heat, and add the next ingredient as soon as it smells fragrant.

To assemble

1. 7
   Put the onion, carrot, celery, parsley, garlic, bay leaves and thyme in a large pot with the cold water.

   Large pot

   💡Start with cold water: the vegetables release their flavor slowly as the water heats up.
2. 8
   Bring to a boil over high heat and skim off the foam.

   Stove
3. 9
   Turn down to medium-low heat and simmer uncovered 30–45 minutes.

   Stove

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
4. 10
   Strain the stock through a fine sieve.

   Fine sieve
5. 11
   Add the vegetables and stock and bring to a boil.

   Stove
6. 12
   Turn down the heat and simmer 15 minutes, until the vegetables is completely tender.

   Stove
7. 13
   Blend with the basil with an immersion blender until smooth and creamy.

   Stick blender
8. 14
   Add the cream and sugar, season with salt and black pepper and heat another 5 minutes.

   Stove

   💡The cream or cheese goes in after blending, over low heat: a hard boil after adding them can make the soup separate.