The Bowl And The Beautiful -- By Rosie Hawthorne

I never know when I’m writing a column whether it’s going to be weather-appropriate when it’s published. This is February, so I’m doing winter soups; however, this is also the Outer Banks and it could be in the 70s when you’re reading this, and I should be offering chilled gazpacho, not a nice, warm, fulfilling soup. One never knows down here. At any rate, I hope you’ll enjoy this satisfying tomato soup with a twist. I’m going with Parmesan crisps, not the ubiquitous grilled cheese.

Rosie’s Tomato Basil Soup With Parmesan Crisps
1 TB unsalted butter
1 TB extra virgin olive oil
½ cup chopped carrots
½ cup chopped red onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 Roma tomatoes, peeled, seeded, juiced, and
chopped
2 TB tomato paste
1 28-ounce can of diced tomatoes
3 cups chicken broth
2 TB brown sugar
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup cream
1 pat of unsalted butter for each bowl
A teaspoon each of minced green pepper, minced
Roma tomato, minced cucumber, and chopped basil
for each bowl
Parmesan crisps (recipe to follow)

Heat the butter and olive oil over medium heat and add the
carrots and onions. Cook over medium low for about 10
minutes. Add garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste, diced toma-
toes, and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, reduce to a bare
simmer, and cook over low for about 45 minutes.
Stir in brown sugar. Taste test and season with kosher salt
and freshly ground pepper. Cook 15 more minutes over low,
then add in the cream. Occasionally, come in and squish
the tomato pieces against the side of the pan to get all the
fl avor. Mark the level with a skewer and continue cooking
maybe 30-40 minutes more, to develop the fl avor and re-
duce the mixture by half.
Either use an immersion blender or regular blender to purée
the mixture until smooth.
To serve, ladle soup into bowls, enrich the soup with a pat
of butter swirled through it, and top with a teaspoon each of
minced green pepper, minced Roma tomato, minced cucum-
ber, chopped basil, and tuck in a Parmesan crisp.

Parmesan Crisps
For each round, scoop out about ¼ cup loosely packed Parmesan
cheese. Form into a round on parchment paper, lightly pressing.
Bake in a 400° oven until bubbly and lightly browned, about 8
minutes. Drain on paper towels

For more recipes, tours of my garden, and the
occasional travelogue, please visit with Rosie
at KitchensAreMonkeyBusiness.com. For any
culinary questions, e-me at
Rosie Hawthorne@gmail.com.