You might attribute the creamy texture of this tomato basil soup to heavy cream, and the tangy flavor to fresh, ripe tomatoes. The reality is that this soup contains zero cream, and tomatoes from a can. You’d never know it, though, thanks to a couple of surprising ingredients and a cooking trick with a cheese rind. (Yup, you read that right. A cheese rind.)
Using canned, fire-roasted tomatoes instead of regular ones punches up the taste quotient here. Adding a 1- to 2-inch piece of Parmesan rind –– a hack you can use whenever you’re making a soup or sauce –– infuses this soup with cheesy flavor. Puréeing everything in the pot (minus the rind) and blending the output with a touch of nonfat Greek yogurt delivers a soup so velvety, you’ll swear there’s cream in there.
Creamy Tomato Basil Soup With Cauliflower Purée
Serves 6
Cook time: 35 minutes
Total time: 50 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- 1 (12-oz) pkg frozen cauliflower florets
- 1 (32-oz) carton low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 (14-oz) cans no-salt-added fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- Parmesan cheese rind
- 1/2 cup fresh basil
- ½ cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- Grated Parmesan cheese
- Chopped fresh basil
Directions
1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and sauté 3 minutes. Add frozen cauliflower. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
2. Add broth, tomatoes, and Parmesan rind. Bring to a low boil over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce heat to medium, and cook for 20 minutes or until cauliflower is very tender.
3. Carefully remove rind from soup and stir in basil. Working in batches, transfer soup to blender, and process until smooth. Return soup to pot.
4. Stir in yogurt, salt, and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes over medium heat or until hot. Garnish with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and fresh basil if desired. Yields approximately 8 cups.
NUTRITION FACTS (per 1 1/3 cup ): Calories 100 ; Total Fat 2.5g (Saturated Fat 0g); Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 250mg; Total Carbs 12g (Dietary Fiber 3g, Total Sugars 6g, Added Sugars 0g); Protein 6g.
CAROLYN WILLIAMS, PHD, RD
Rally Health
