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Recipe from Family Celebrations with the Cake Boss by Buddy Valastro.

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 2 28-ounce cans whole peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand with their juice
  • 1 cup chicken stock, plus more if needed
  • 1/2 cup (loosely packed) fresh basil leaves, washed and coarsely sliced or torn by hand
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream, half-and-half or milk
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Yield

Serves: 4 to 6

Preparation

Heat a large, heavy pot over medium heat. Add the butter and cook until it is melted and foamy. Add the onion and garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened but not browned, about 4 minutes. Pour in the tomatoes and their juices then stir in the stock. Raise the heat to high, bring to a boil, then lower the heat so the liquid is simmering. Continued to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes begin to break down, about 10 minutes. Set aside 2 tablespoons of the basil, and stir the rest into the pot.

Using an immersion blender, or working in batches in a standing blender*, purée the soup until almost smooth. Stir in the cream, season with salt and pepper, and adjust the consistency with more cream or chicken stock. Ladle into bowls and garnish with the remaining basil.


*Hot Stuff: Be careful when blending hot liquids in a standing blender because the contained steam and heat can cause the lid to pop off. A good way to prevent this is to remove the center piece from the blender and cover the hole with a folded, slightly damp, kitchen towel. This will allow steam to escape as you work; just don’t fill the blender so high that the soup splashes out.
 

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