Tomato Basil Soup

A local bakery serves a wonderful tomato basil soup on Mondays. The problem is the bakery is a landmine for a weight watcher, so I was delighted to find a recipe for tomato basil soup in Cooking Light magazine. I hoped the soup would be similar in taste to the bakery's version, but it surpassed it in taste. That it takes no time at all to put together is an added bonus.


Serves 4 (10 points plus; 312 cal.; 13.9 g fat; 13.2 g prot; 33.8 g carb ;3.4 g fiber)
1 tbs olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion (1 medium onion)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
28 oz can fire-roasted, diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 cup (4 oz) Neufchatel cheese (or 1/3 less fat cream cheese)
2 cups 1% low fat milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
12 (1/2 inch) slices French bread
cooking spray
1 garlic clove, halved
1 oz shredded Asiago cheese

Preheat broiler to high
Heat olive oil in a pot over medium high heat. Add onion and saute for 3 minutes. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add basil and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Stir in cream cheese until melted. Use an immersion blender or place mixture in a blender and blend until smooth. Return to pot, stir in milk, and slowly heat to desired temperature. Do not boil.

Place bread slices on baking sheet. Lightly coat with spray and rub garlic over bread. Divide cheese among slices and broil until bubbly. Serve with the soup.
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TASTE NOTES
Thick and creamy, sweet and savory in every sip, this may be the perfect tomato soup. While I could have eaten an entire loaf of French bread with melted Asiago on top, the 3 slices and bowl of soup along with a salad was the perfect dinner. This will become a go-to recipe for sure. Next time I'll make it with a cheese panini.