Roasted Tomato-basil Soup with Chicken Sausage and Croutons

By Foodguy on May 14th, 2008

tomato basil soup
I first discovered this dish at a local Greek restaurant Kouzina. Most recipes you find for this dish do not include the chicken sausage. It’s an absolute must! You could substitute any kind of meat you’d like for the meatballs. Please don’t let the long list of directions intimidate you. Every step below is very easy to accomplish. This particular recipe will serve between 6-8 people.

For the Soup:

3 lb ripe, red, firm tomatoes
1.5 oz fresh basil
6-8 cloves of garlic
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large potato
4 rounded teaspoons tomato purée (you can buy it in a can)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 32 oz. container of beef broth
1 tablespoon 5 pepper blend seasoning
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons of fresh parsley, chopped (for garnish)

For the Chicken Sausage Meatballs:

1 package Tomato, Basil Chicken Sausage (casings removed)
1 egg
Breadcrumbs (enough to absorb the egg)
2 tsp basil
2 tsp oregano
2 tsp grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and freshly ground pepper

For the croutons:

1/2 loaf ciabatta or focaccia, cut into cubes
3-4 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. dried basil
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Remove the skin of the tomatoes by pouring boiling water on them in a pot, leave for 2-3 minutes before slipping the skins off. Next, slice each tomato in half, then cut just the top of the cores out from each tomato, and arrange the halves on the baking tray, cut side up. Place the garlic cloves on the tray with their skins on. Season everything with salt and pepper and sprinkle a few drops of olive oil on each tomato half and some on the garlic. Now top each tomato with a small piece of basil leaf. Drizzle each leaf with a little olive oil.

Place the baking tray into the oven and roast for 1 hour or until the edges of the tomatoes are slightly blackened. (note, the garlic was done before the tomatoes were. You may want to remove the garlic after about 30-40 minutes and return the tomatoes for longer)

While the tomatoes are roasting, prepare the croûtons by placing the olive oil and spices in a bowl, add the bread cubes, then toss them around to coat everything. (set aside for now)

Now prepare the chicken sausage meatballs by combining all ingredients except the breadcrumbs. After every thing is mixed well, slowly add enough bread crumbs to absorb the egg (about 1-1 1/2 cups). Roll the meatballs into 1 inch balls. Fry in a skillet with a little oil until they are cooked. (set aside for now)

20 minutes before the end of the roasting time, peel and chop the potato, place it in a saucepan with some salt and 1 pint of boiling water. Add the tomato puree and simmer for about 20 minutes.

When the tomatoes are done, remove them from the oven (leave the oven turned on). Arrange croûtons on a baking tray and bake for about 8 minutes.

Next scrape the tomatoes and their juices into a food processor, squeeze the garlic pulp to remove them from the skins and add them to the food processor. Then add the contents of the potato saucepan and mix everything to a thick puree. Now transfer the soup to a large pot and add the beef broth. Mix with a whisk until blended. The soup is now ready for reheating – at a very low temperature.

Right before serving the soup make the basil puree. Put the basil leaves into a mortar, sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of salt, then smash the leaves down with the pestle until it forms a puree (about 1-2 minutes of smashing). Now add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the balsamic vinegar and stir well. (If you don’t have a mortar, just cut the basil as fine as you can with a knife, add the basil to a small bowl, then add the 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the balsamic vinegar and stir well.

To serve the soup, pour it into serving bowls, add 2-3 meatballs and drizzle the basil puree on the surface, then finally sprinkle on the croûtons, grated Parmesan cheese and parsley.