Homemade Tomato Soup with Sweet Mascarpone Cheese and Basil

I love soup. Considering I’m always cold (New England winters don’t help) and I like to have high quality healthy food prepared in bulk for the week, soup is a staple for me. This homemade soup is naturally rich, satisfying and a delicious, healthy source of carbohydrates and fat. And once you add the garnish; Italian sweet and creamy mascarpone cheese and fresh basil at the end, it’s nothing short of heavenly. To stabilize your blood sugar and turn it into a fat burning, muscle building meal, pair your soup with a lean protein on the side like grilled chicken or fish. If your protein isn’t prepared lean or you want to go a little cleaner, simply skip the mascarpone cheese (it’s delicious without it too). Chef’s tip: Pay attention to your tomatoes. Because tomatoes are the star of this recipe, it’s important to use ripe, juicy, really red tomatoes. 

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12 good and ripe plum tomatoes, washed and cut into quarters lengthwise
Kosher or sea salt
Fresh ground black pepper
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 large white onion, chopped
5 garlic cloves finely minced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
3 to 4 cups msg free all natural low sodium chicken stock
1 ½ teaspoons sugar
1 heaping tablespoon all natural tomato paste
Mascarpone cheese for serving
Chopped fresh basil for garnish

1. Prepare tomatoes. Take quartered plum tomatoes and run your thumb along the flesh to remove the seeds. Set the excess seeds and juice from tomatoes aside in a small bowl. Rough chop the tomatoes and season with a little salt and pepper and let them marinate. I like to strain the excess seeds and juice in a strainer to remove the seeds. I then add the juice only to the tomatoes and discard the seeds. 

2. Heat a large pot over medium/high heat. Once hot, add olive oil. Once oil is hot, add onions and sauté for about 5 minutes. Next add fresh thyme and garlic and sauté for another 2 minutes or so. Season with a little salt and pepper (we’re seasoning in layers to get the best flavor). 

3. Add tomatoes (and juice) to the pot and lower heat to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes.

4. Add enough chicken stock to cover the tomatoes (I used about 3 ¼ cups but it all depends on how ripe and juicy your tomatoes are). Reduce heat to low/medium. Let the soup hang out for approximately 30 minutes to let flavors blend. It’s fine if the soup is at a very gentle simmer.

5. Puree the soup either in batches in a blender or by hand with an immersion hand blender (genius little tool). Add soup back to pot and add sugar and tomato paste. Stir well (breaking up tomato paste) and taste. Add more salt and pepper until the flavors come out.

6. Serve with a tablespoon of mascarpone cheese and fresh basil. Enjoy!