Tomato Basil Soup

Shortly before leaving Alabama, Jonathan and I took the recommendation of a friend and went to eat at Joe's Italian in Birmingham.  The quaint restaurant is owned by Italian immigrants, Joe and "Mamma," who use their authentic recipes to create delicious meals made with locally grown food.  We sat down and noticed everyone in the restaurant was having a cup of the tomato basil soup, so we knew that they must all know something we didn't.  We ordered the soup, and it was to-die-for.  I normally am not crazy about tomato soup (my brain goes to the icky condensed stuff in a can), but this was so good, I knew I had to find a recipe to recreate it myself.  Well, I was in luck, because The Birmingham News had done a special on Joe's Italian, and they had given away their secret recipe in the article.  I made it recently (I know, soup in summer?  It's not very hot here yet, I was just craving it!), and we loved it.

2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 Tbsp. minced fresh garlic
4 cups ground tomatoes (use the San-Marzano style canned crushed tomatoes)
1 cup chicken broth
1 tsp. crushed oregano
1 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream (I used fat-free half-and-half)
1/4 cup fresh chopped basil (use fresh!)

Melt the butter with the oil over medium heat in a heavy-bottom pot.  Add onions and wilt approximately 8 minutes; then add garlic and wilt 2 minutes more, stirring constantly.  Add the tomatoes and the broth, bring to a boil, cover, and simmer 60 minutes.  Season with oregano, salt,  and pepper.  Add basil.  Stir in cream or half-and-half.  Simmer on medium-low another 30 minutes.  Garnish with fresh basil before serving.

Note:  In the summer, you can blanch fresh tomatoes for 8 minutes, then crush in food processor.  In the winter, use San-Marzano style tomatoes (if you can't find crushed San Marzanos, drain half the liquid and process in food processor.

Source:  The Birmingham News