Tomato Bread Soup

Tomato Bread Soup, serves 6
-4 Tbs butter
-1 yellow onion
-3 cloves garlic minced
-2 lbs tomatoes, (if you don’t have fresh, use crushed or whole canned tomatoes)
-4 cups chicken (or vegetable) broth
-1Tbs dried oregano
-1 pinch red pepper flakes
-1 cup basil leaves, loosely packed
-3-4 cups rustic bread, torn into pieces (stale is juuust fine!)
-Kosher Salt to taste
-Finely shredded Parmesan cheese for garnish

1) In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat and add the onions and a sprinkle of salt.

2) Let the onions sweat until soft and tender, about 5 minutes.

3) Add the garlic and cook until soft.

4) Add the tomatoes and stir everything together. Cover with the broth and add the oregano.

5) Turn the heat to low and put a lid on the pot. Simmer the soup for about 20-30 minutes or until the tomatoes (if fresh) are bursting from their skins.

6) I use an immersion blender and puree until the soup is not completely smooth, but the tomatoes are all broken up.

7) Then I add the cup of fresh basil leaves and puree those in a little bit (just so there are no full sized leaves.)

8) Next, add the bread to the pot, and stir the bread all around.

9) Put the lid back on the pot and let simmer over lowest heat another 10 minutes. Then I just used a wooden spoon to break up the bread a little bit into the soup.

10) Season with kosher salt if you need it and serve hot with some grated parmesan cheese on top.