Description
A rich and comforting tomato soup enhanced with sun-dried tomatoes and fresh basil pesto, creamy with soured cream, perfect for a cozy meal.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients
- 1 tbsp butter or olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 5 soft sun-dried or SunBlush tomatoes in oil, roughly chopped
- 3 x 400g cans plum tomatoes
- 500ml turkey or vegetable stock
- 1 tsp sugar, any type, or more to taste
- 142ml pot soured cream
- 125g pot fresh basil pesto
- Basil leaves, to serve
Optional Hearty Rice & Seafood Soup Variation
- 2 tbsp oil from sun-dried/SunBlush tomatoes
- 185g sliced chorizo
- 1 sliced onion
- 85g paella rice
- 400g bag mixed seafood, defrosted
- Chopped parsley, to garnish
Instructions
- Prepare the base: Heat the butter or olive oil in a large pan over low heat. Add the crushed garlic and soften gently for a few minutes without browning.
- Add tomatoes and simmer: Stir in the chopped sun-dried or SunBlush tomatoes, canned plum tomatoes, stock, sugar, and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a gentle simmer and let it cook for 10 minutes to allow the tomatoes to break down slightly.
- Blend the soup: Using a stick blender, whizz the soup until smooth, gradually adding half the pot of soured cream to create a creamy texture.
- Adjust seasoning: Taste the soup, add more sugar if needed to balance acidity, and adjust salt and pepper as desired.
- Serve: Ladle the soup into bowls, swirl about 1 tablespoon of fresh basil pesto on top, add a little more soured cream, and scatter with fresh basil leaves for garnish.
- Optional hearty twist: For a seafood version, heat 2 tbsp oil from the sun-dried tomatoes in a large saucepan, fry sliced chorizo and onion until golden. Follow the recipe above but omit soured cream and pesto. Add chorizo, onion, paella rice, and simmer for 20 minutes until rice is tender, adding water if too thick. Finally, stir in defrosted mixed seafood until heated through, then serve with chopped parsley on top.
Notes
- You can use butter or olive oil depending on preference.
- Adjust sugar to balance the acidity of the tomatoes to your taste.
- The soup can be made vegetarian by using vegetable stock and omitting the optional chorizo and seafood.
- The stick blender creates a smooth texture, but you can leave it chunkier if preferred.
- Serving with additional soured cream and fresh basil enhances flavor and presentation.
- The optional seafood and rice variation adds a hearty and filling twist.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: European
Keywords: tomato soup, pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, creamy soup, easy soup recipe, basil pesto soup
