Well, I'll tell you a little secret about me...
I do not like tomatoes!
Yes, I'm weird. I know. Go figure..
Anyway, I do not like tomatoes in their natural form. (Do not try to understand..I know I don't)
But tomato soup? Yes Yes Yes.
On winter days like this, I want a warm, delicious and comforting food.
Tomato soup with pasta meets my need perfectly.
It's raining outside and I'm inside with my soup, pleased and happy :)
And to make it even more delicious and enjoyable, I added some fresh ricotta cheese and chili-basil oil on top.
Ingredients:
5-6 large tomatoes
1 onion
6-8 cloves of garlic
One glass of dry white wine
One small carrot
Two stalks of celery
A bunch of basil
1 bottle of tomato puree
Olive oil
Sea salt
1 teaspoon of sugar
Ground black pepper
One cup of pasta (whichever shape you choose, preference for a small size)
4 cups boiling water
Preparation:
If you want to serve the soup with chili-basil oil like I did - I will recommend preparing it in advance. All you have to do is chop some basil together with some fresh or dried chili and mix with olive oil and a little bit of salt. And just wait for the oil to absorb the flavors. The longer you wait, the tastier the oil will be.
At least two to three hours but a whole night would be even better.
The soup -
Cut the tomatoes and onions into quarters, place it on a tray.
Drizzle olive oil generously, season with salt, pepper and garlic (crushed or chopped).
Put in the oven at 200 degrees Celsius for 15-20 minutes, peek from time to time to check that it's not getting overcooked and burned.
Meanwhile, chop the celery and carrot into cubes and in a pot lightly fry it in olive oil with salt, pepper and garlic.
When the roasted onions and tomatoes ready transfer it to the pot with the carrots and celery and add a glass of dry white wine and a teaspoon of sugar.
Once the alcohol has evaporated add the tomato puree and add salt and pepper.
Cook until the carrots are tender, add the basil and using a rod blender - grind together all the ingredients.
Add the boiling water and cook for half an hour.
Add more salt and pepper if necessary.
Add the pasta and continue to cook according to the needed cooking time of the pasta you choose.
Tip: If you do not prepare the soup before the time you're planning to eat it - do not add the pasta to the soup, it will overcook and thicken the soup more than wanted. So, either add the pasta to the soup just before eating it or cook the pasta separately and add it to the soup when you serve it.
As I mentioned, a little ricotta Fresca will upgrades the soup and with an addition of grated parmesan it would be even better :)
Enjoy!
