Ditch the canned soup and its excessive salt for this easy soup that combines two comfort foods into one for a feel-good lunch or dinner.
Appropriate for: clean, high-fiber, vegetarian diets
Ingredients:
- For soup:
- 6 pounds tomatoes, cut in half
- Cooking spray
- Salt
- Pepper
- 2 yellow onions, chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cups chopped basil leaves
- 3 to 4 cups water
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- For croutons:
- 2 slice 2% cheddar cheese
- 2 slices whole-grain bread
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mist tomatoes with cooking spray, arrange on baking sheet skin-side-down, and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Roast for 45 minutes.
2. In large pot, sauté onions, garlic, crushed red pepper, and salt and pepper to taste in olive oil for 5 minutes. Add roasted tomatoes, basil, water, and more salt and pepper to taste, if desired. Puree mixture with a hand blender until semi-smooth. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to broil. Place cheese on bread, put on a baking sheet, and broil for 5 minutes until cheese bubbles and bread is toasted. Cut into 1-inch bites.
4. Serve soup with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and cheese croutons on top.
