Creole Tomato Basil Soup

I have a recipe for Shrimp Creole that me and mine dearly love.  It is wonderfully good.  Not the recipe for today, but it prompted this recipe.  On a cool fall day, who could argue with a steaming cup of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich?  Anyway I was making shrimp creole one day and it occurs to me that the creole itself is wonderful and as much as I love shrimp, I could eat the creole by itself.  

Many creole or cajun recipes start with "first you make a roux", the rest of them start with sauteing this flavor tri-fecta!

The wheels were turning.  It was not more than two weeks before I was making my own Creole Tomato Basil Soup. I hope you enjoy this cozy (quick and easy too) dish as much as I do.  This soup is perfect to whip up after a long day at work and is ready in no time.  This recipe makes enough for 3 generous mugs of soup.  

At this point your mouth will start watering, smells so good!

Just simmering now, waiting patiently, or you could be making those grilled cheese sandwiches.  Gouda, havarti, try different cheeses.

The butter mellows the color of the soup, but what else does it do?

1 onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, diced 

1/4 cup diced bell pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped

1 28 oz can diced tomatoes, strain juice and reserve

2 1/2-3 cups chicken stock

1 teaspoon creole seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons butter

Add the olive oil to the pan and saute the onion, garlic and bell pepper until the onions are beginning to get translucent (do not brown the veggies).  Add the reserved juice from the tomatoes and continue to simmer. Meanwhile, puree the diced tomatoes (this can be done easily right in the can with a wand or hand blender ). Retain some of the texture of the tomatoes, but not chunky.  Add the tomatoes, chicken stock and basil continue to simmer (about 10 minutes more).  Add the butter and simmer until the butter is melted.  Spoon into mugs and top with fresh ground black pepper

I don't know why, but adding the butter at the end of the cooking adds something vital to this soup, helping to create a richer texture and flavor.