Tomato Basil and Bacon Soup with Bacon Parmesan Crisp

Did you read all those words? I really don’t need to say more, do I?

I like to think of this as the perfect party or family dish. Not so much in serving, but more time is needed to invest in preparation. The parmesan crisps is a simple and easy recipe. The tomato soup takes a little prep, but it’s the kind that’s fun to have people help and crowd around the kitchen. Plus, roasting garlic and onions will make the whole place smell like a hug!

Tomato Basil and Bacon Soup with Bacon Parmesan Crisp Recipe

Ingredients

3 large tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
6 oz (1/2 package) bacon
2 cups chicken broth
1 head garlic
1 bunch celery
1 bunch basil
1 cup parmeson
1 carrot
1 tsp sugar
salt and pepper
Olive oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Take your bacon and dice into tiny bits. Put bacon in a large stock pot, sprinkle in some pepper and cook over medium to render out fat and crisp bacon.

Take bacon out when done and let drain on a paper towel, then separate into two piles. Remove half of the rendered bacon fat from your stock pot, leaving about a tablespoon. If you really love bacon flavor, save the removed fat to use in a few steps!

Now, take your garlic, peel and smash them. Peel and quarter your onions. Core and quarter your tomatoes. Place all of them on a cookie sheet and toss with the remaining bacon fat and about 1 tbsp of olive oil. Sprinkle salt, pepper and sugar over the vegetable mixture and set to the side to be roasted.

Now that your bacon is done and your veggies prepped for roasting, we can start the bacon parmesan crisps. In a bowl, place your parmesan cheese, about 1 tbsp of pepper and a pinch of salt. Mix thoroughly. Then on a silicone or parchment lined cookie sheet, make 8 tablespoon-ish sized piles of parmesan cheese. Press the piles down and try to make into circles. Take half of your reserved bacon and lightly press it into the piles. Be careful to keep the piles as intact as you can.

Carefully place your pan in the oven and cook for 5-8 minutes. You want them to be lightly browned on top.

While your parmesan crisps cook, grate your carrot and chop your celery. Place these in your stock pot over medium heat to soften them.

Remove your bacon parmesan crisp from the oven and set to the side for half an hour. The longer you let the crisps cool, the crispier/cracker like they become. (One cool thing, after about 5 minutes of cooling, you can curl or wrap them around other food!) Raise the oven to 450 and place the tomatoes, garlic and onions in the oven and roast for about 15 minutes.

In your stock pot, add 2 cups of chicken broth and bring to a boil. Then add in your tomato sauce and reduce to a simmer for about 5 minutes.

By now, the roasting veggies should be done. Carefully remove from the oven and place into a blender. Pulse, not puree, the veggies to a chunky consistency. Add your blended veggies to the stock and and raise the temperature to medium for about 10 minutes. The soup will begin to reduce as all the flavors marry together. Take a few leaves of basil, leaving some for garnish, and roll them into a bunch and thinly slice. Add them to the stock pot, then puree the soup till smooth either using a hand blender or adding it in batches to your regular blender. Reduce to a simmer and continue to cook for another 5 minutes.

Now ladle your bacon soup out into bowl, sprinkle your remaining bacon, add a parmesan crisp and garnish with basil.

The end result is a smokey and hearty tomato soup that is sure to take the chill off of any day. The parmesan crisp will soften slightly, but still serves as the perfect way of getting this soup in your belly!