It was a beautiful summer day, very pleasant in our Bay Area microclimate, and I had just received a huge basket of garden fresh tomatoes from my neighbor Jim, and here I was watching an episode of Barefoot Contessa on TV with a recipe for fresh tomato soup,  I couldn’t believe it!  The timing couldn’t have been more appropriate, it was the perfect time to make tomato soup with my newly delivered stash of garden tomatoes.

Ina recommends having this soup chilled in the summer or warm in the winter. Since its winter now and fresh garden tomatoes are hard to find, I made this soup again with fresh tomatoes from the grocery store and it tastes as good as it did when I first made it with fresh garden tomatoes in the summer!

This tomato soup is a little different in that it’s more of chunky tomato soup rather than your typical creamy tomato soup. The other thing I loved about this recipe is the addition of carrots which add sweetness and substance to the tangy juicy tomatoes thus making the soup more filling.  With the tangy flavor of tomatoes and the sweetness of carrots, this is a sweet and sour type of soup.

A warm bowl of tomato soup on a cold wintery day – what’s more perfect? We had this tomato carrot soup recently on a beautiful lazy wintery Sunday evening with a grilled cheese sandwich.

Easy to make with simple ingredients, this is an awesome soup recipe. Give it a try!  Ina Garten’s Fresh Tomato Cream Soup.

Fresh Tomato Carrot Soup
by Ina Garten.

• 3 tablespoons good olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped red onions (2 onions)
• 2 carrots, unpeeled and chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
• 4 pounds vine-ripened tomatoes, coarsely chopped (5 large tomatoes)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1/4 cup packed chopped fresh basil leaves, plus julienned basil leaves, for garnish
• 3 cups chicken stock, I used vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• Croutons, for garnish

For complete instructions take a look at this link Ina Garten’s Fresh Tomato Cream Soup.

• To keep the soup dairy free, just skip the cream.

• Or go ahead and add cream for a delectable creamy chunky tomato carrot soup.

Ina Garten’s Fresh Tomato Cream Soup.