Winter Tomato Soup

This recipe is a take on my Terribly Easy Tomato Soup. I go to it in the winter months, when it's cheaper to buy canned tomatoes than fresh ones.

If you shop at Costco, the large 2.84 l tins are the exact right amount for this recipe.

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 onion, chopped

4 carrots, roughly chopped into 1 inch pieces

2 tsp or 4 cloves minced garlic

10 c canned tomatoes (or 3 x 32 oz cans)

3 c chicken stock

1/2 c fresh basil leaves (or 1/4 c dry)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

2 c water (optional)

cream (to taste)

Sweat onions in oil on low heat for 8-10 min until soft. Add garlic for last minute of cooking. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer for 2 hours on low to let flavours combine. Add 2 c water at end of cooking if lots of water has evaporated. Puree with immersion blender until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Soup can be frozen at this stage.

When serving, add cream to taste. (I usually add about 1 tbsp per bowl. 2% milk works as well).