Creamy Tomato Soup with Mozzarella Croutons and Basil Pesto

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

Soup:

• 2 Tbsp olive or avocado oil

• 1 large yellow onion, diced

• 4-5 cloves of garlic, diced

• 2 tsp kosher salt

• 1/4 tsp black pepper

• 4-5 heirloom carrots, peeled and diced (I like orange, purple and white varieties)

• 2 cans (14 oz each) diced tomatoes

• 2 cans (14 oz each) fire roasted tomatoes

• 1 can (14 oz) tomato sauce

• 1 1/2 Tbsp dried basil (I substitute Penzey’s Foxpoint blend)

• 1 1/2 Tbsp dried oregano

• 2 cups chicken broth

• 1 1/2 blocks cream cheese

• 2 tsp sugar

Mozzarella Croutons:

• 1 log fresh mozzarella cheese, cubed into 1” squares

• Panko breadcrumbs (about 1/2 cup)

• Flour (about 1/2 cup)

• 1 Tbsp dried basil

• 1 egg, whisked

Basil Pesto:

• 2 cups fresh basil, stems removed

• 3-4 cloves of garlic, minced

• ¾ tsp kosher salt

• ¼ tsp black pepper

• 1 Tbsp lemon juice

• 1/3 cup nuts of choice (I like to use pine nuts or slivered almonds; ensure nuts are unsalted and can be roasted)

• ½ cup to ¾ cup olive oil

• ¼ cup to 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

• Place cubed mozzarella cheese for croutons in a large ziploc bag. Spread out evenly in a single layer so cheese doesn’t stick together. Place flat in freezer while preparing soup.

• Heat oil in a large stockpot over high heat. Add onions and lightly brown, about 2-3 minutes. Add garlic and cook 2-3 more minutes. Add carrots and salt and pepper. Cook 4-5 more minutes.

• Add next 6 ingredients (through chicken broth). Stir well. Bring soup to a boil. Once boiling, turn down to low and add cubed cream cheese and sugar. Stir to combine. Cover soup and simmer on low for 25 minutes.

• While soup is cooking, make basil pesto. Combine all pesto ingredients except oil together in Cuisinart. Begin to blend and drizzle olive oil into blender while going to emulsify. Adjust level of olive oil needed to drive desired consistency. Scoop into bowl and put to side until ready to use.

• Heat oven to 400 degrees for croutons.

• After soup is done simmering, work in batches to blend. Using a blender or food processor, blend soup until smooth. You still need to work in batches. Repeat until you have blended all soup to a smooth consistency. Return to stockpot and keep on low heat.

• Finish mozzarella croutons. Place flour, panko and whisked eggs each in individual bowls (3 bowls total). Add dried herbs to flour and stir. Prepare cookie sheet by spraying with nonstick spray. Remove mozzarella from freezer. Work quickly so cheese doesn’t melt. Dip cheese in flour (coating both sides), dip in egg and finish in panko, covering well. Place on cookie sheet. Repeat until rest of mozzarella is coated.

• Bake in oven at 400 degrees for 5-6 minutes. Finish by broiling on top rack for 1-2 minutes. Watch closely so cheese doesn’t burn!

• Plate your soup with 2 scoops of soup in each bowl. Add 2-3 croutons to the top of each bowl of soup. Drizzle with basil pesto. Enjoy!