Provençal Tomato and Basil Soup
- Total Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:Serves four
- 1tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1small onion, chopped
- 4 to 6garlic cloves (to taste), minced
- Salt to taste
- 2pounds tomatoes, cored and diced, or 1 28-ounce can chopped tomatoes with juice
- Pinch of sugar
- 2large sprigs basil, or about 16 leaves, plus 2 tablespoons slivered basil for garnish
- 1quart water
- 1Parmesan rind (optional)
- Freshly ground pepper to taste
- ¼cup rice or tapioca
- Garlic croutons (thin slices of baguette, lightly toasted and rubbed with a cut garlic clove)
- Grated or shaved Parmesan
For the Garnishes
Preparation
- Step 1
Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven. Add the onion. Cook, stirring often, until tender, about five minutes. Stir in half the garlic and a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds to a minute. Add the tomatoes, sugar, basil sprigs or leaves and remaining garlic. Cook, stirring often, until the tomatoes have cooked down and smell fragrant, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Step 2
Add the water, Parmesan rind and salt to taste. Bring to a simmer, cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer 15 minutes. Add the tapioca or rice, and simmer for another 15 minutes until the tapioca is tender and the soup fragrant. Remove the basil sprigs and Parmesan rind. Puree in a blender in small batches, taking care to place a towel over the top of the blender and hold it down tightly. If you used fresh unpeeled tomatoes and want a silkier soup, put through a strainer, using a spatula or the back of a ladle to push the soup through. Return to the pot, add pepper to taste and adjust salt. Serve garnished with garlic croutons and/or Parmesan, if desired, and slivered basil leaves. If serving cold, refrigerate until chilled.
Tip
- Advance preparation: The soup will keep for two or three days in the refrigerator and can be frozen.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
ben
You must add one large diced carrot with the onion. Brings color, texture and sweetness. No need for sugar if you do.
Henry
Leave out the water completely as well as the tapioca.
Marguerite
Worked great with canned San Marzano tomatoes. Used tapioca and puréed with a stick blender right in the pot.
Terri
I also used San Marzano tomatoes, but used rice instead of tapioca. Great, soul-soothing soup (and, after all - what is the purpose of soup if not to soothe the soul?).
I'll probably use less water next time, but I prefer thicker soups.
Happygardener
I ended up using this soup as a base for killer minestrone. On it's own, the flavor is bland and the tapioca lends a silky, but funky, texture. Even with garden fresh ingredients this soup is just ok. But, add lots of veggies, more herbs, pasta (Italian sausage?) and its a winner!
Roberta
Made this for a winery picnic where a gourmet grilled cheese sandwich food cart was going to be present! It was delicious and completed the sandwiches beautifully. After reading the notes I substituting chicken stock rather than water, using only about half the amount. I then did not need to use the rice/tapioca. Used frozen chopped basil instead of fresh and carrot instead of sugar. Delicious!
David Look
Uncooked.
Pepe La Phew
Add cooked or uncooked rice?
Nate V
For so few ingredients this takes a lot of time and ends up quite bland and has a distinct rice flavor. I even tried adding anchovies. Maybe the soup is supposed to be mild? It tasted good until the water was added. Also, why are the basil leaves removed before blending? I'd use toasted bread instead of rice next time.
Francie
I added a small frozen block of chopped fresh basil leaves in olive oil; don't remember putting the plastic bag of them into the freezer so it must have been 18 months ago and I apparently used a muffin tin to freeze the little mounds. The basil was still pungent and fragrant and added a great flavor.
Tom
This needs more of everything. I used 7 on-the-vine tomatoes, hoping that was 2 pounds. This would benefit from a lot more tomato, more onion. I used 2 cups of milk with 2 cups of water, which makes it a little richer.
Laura Heuchan
This is the best tomato basil soup recipe that I have cooked. I doubled the amount of garlic. The only advice I have is that if you use a blender to puree it, do not fill the canister more than half full and definitely hold the top down with a dishtowel. Also, let the soup cool for about 15 minutes before pureeing. Looking forward to making this next summer when I have fresh tomatoes and basil from my garden. I used canned tomatoes and the flavor was still wonderful.
SG
Canned fire roasted tomatoes makes this luscious, and a splash of cream at the end to finish. Used tons of basil from garden, too!
Anita
Included shaved parmesan and used canned whole tomatoes. Rather than water used chicken broth. Quarter cup tapioca flour was enough thickening. Perfect.
mmcv
Cook post blend to really make it creamy, otherwise the rice remains in tiny chunks
Tom 190
Left out tapioca, used very little water. Added ⅓ cup diced carrot to onions as advised. Used canned tomatoes plus a couple Tablespoons of tomato paste. 8 minutes in instant pot, high pressure, plus some reducing. Very nice, simple pasta sauce. Of course one could alway spice it up.
paula726
I used fresh tomatoes. No water, tapioca, or rice. Basil from the garden and imported parm/reg. Cooked it down for 2 hours 🥰
Colleen
At first I was skeptical of adding the rice, But was pleasantly surprised. I made a few modifications, substituting chicken stock for water, and adding a few tablespoons of balsamic vinegar. I did not have fresh basil available so substituted with some pesto. It was delicious!
Margarita
February 5, 2024. Added Aleppo pepper, mushroom powder, tablespoon tomato paste carrots. No sugar. Didn’t have basil, used herbes d’Provence. Thickened with yellow sweet/yams. So good.
Sara Likestocook
Love this! So simple yet flavorful! I have basil growing year round under a grow light, so putting this together is super easy.
Marcia
Used my garden fresh san marzanos and followed the directions with rice. Portioned out and froze for lunches after the first meal and have been enjoying this for the last two months. The flavors are so wonderful even after that freezer time, like taking me back to my summer harvest meals. The cheese rind is an absolute must for the overall balance and umami. And who doesn't love garlic croutons?
Marcia
I took others advice and reduced the water by 1/2 a cup. Only other advice is make sure to use enough salt and pepper! We had homemade croutons and that was what really pulled everything together. Perfect meal with some cheese and crackers on a Sunday evening.
Bohdan
I cooked the rice separately. I kept the basil in and used crushed tomatoes to avoid blending. The soup is a bit bland for the effort. I think it could serve as stock for a richer vegetable soup. Would tomato paste or more onions help?
Cathy Jewett
Read the notes a bit late, so added a carrot, leek, tomato paste and pesto as well as chicken stock to the tomatoes as they cooked down. Seasoned with a touch of cayenne and Spanish paprika. Hmm, maybe a bit less cayenne, but I like the kick it added.
Anna
Smoked paprika is a wonderful addition to any basic tomato soup.
Chris
I followed the recipe pretty closely. I started before reading the comment about lack of flavor, so I simmered with the lid off to cook down and concentrate flavor. I adjusted salt at the end and added a dash of Worcester Sauce and a bit of aged sherry vinegar. Yum!
theKirkman
Great recipe! I leave the basil leaves in & blend everything, makes a nice thick soup. Merci beaucoup
Frankie
I used a potato cooked and blended with the rest of it for thickening. Also, I leave the basil in and also use veg. broth instead of water.
Jake
Strain the solids, blend the solids (including the basil!) and then mix back into the liquids. Much easier than blending an entire pot of soup. I needed much more salt and sugar and I added a splash of milk. Simple and delicious!
Catherine
I used a can of tomatoes and tapioca. Also, I used basil leaves and left them in there when I blended everything with immersion blender. Added some Aleppo pepper and herbs de Provence. Totally delicious!
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