Cream Of Tomato Soup

Total Time: 45 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 small carrot, peeled and diced
• 1/2 red pepper, diced
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 cup fat-free half-and-half or 1 cup milk
• salt and pepper

Recipe

• 1 in a large pot, melt butter. add onion, garlic, carrot and red pepper and cook 3 to 5 minutes, until vegetables are softened and proscuitto is crisp.
• 2 stir in flour and cook an additional 1 to 2 minutes.
• 3 add canned tomatoes, broth, tomato paste, spices and sugar. bring to a boil. reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 15 minutes. remove and discard bay leaf.
• 4 in a food processor or blender, in batches, puree soup (optional.) return to saucepan and stir in half-and-half. season with salt and pepper to taste and heat an additional 3 to 5 minutes.
• 5 serve.