Cream of Fresh Tomato Basil Soup

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-low heat. Add the onions and carrots and saute for about 10 minutes, until very tender. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, sugar, tomato paste, basil, chicken stock, salt and pepper and stir well. Bring soup to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 30 to 40 minutes, until the tomatoes are very tender.

Then add the cream to the soup and mix to combine. Process the soup through a food mill (**) into a bowl, discarding only the dry pulp that’s left. Put the soup back into the pot. Reheat the soup over low heat just until hot and serve with julienned basil leaves and /or Parmesan toasts.

**My Mom and I used an immersion blender to blend the soup. I love thick soups!

For the Parmesan Toasts:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Slice the baguette into cubes. Put the cubes of bread in a bowl.
Drizzle olive oil over the top and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Then sprinkle lots of grated Parmesan on the toasts.

Spread the cubes on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.

Bake for 5 to 10 minutes, until the cubes are lightly browned. Cool to room temperature.