This recipe comes from my Grandmother’s Sicilian book of delicious and hearty food that will lead to an early but happy grave. It works best with fresh produce, preferably locally grown, and is a perfect side and compliment to anything involving grilled cheese and buttered bread.

Ingredients:

2tbsp Olive Oil

1tbsp Butter

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

1 Strip of Bacon, coarsely chopped

1/2 Red Bell Pepper

2lbs of diced tomatoes/1 28oz cans of diced tomatoes

1 garlic clove, roughly chopped

1tsp ground cayenne pepper

4 cups chicken/veggie broth (approx)

1/2c dry white wine

2tbsp tomato paste

2tbsp shredded fresh basil or 1tbsp dry basil, plus a few leaves to garnish

2/3c heavy cream or to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

Shredded fresh Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

Heat oil and butter in a large saucepan until foaming. Add onion and bacon and cook gently for about 5 min, stirring frequently until onions are soft

Stir in tomatoes, bell pepper, cayenne pepper and garlic, then add the stock, white wine and tomato paste, with some salt and pepper to taste.

Bring to a boil, then lower temperature and simmer covered for 20min, stirring occasionally.

Add basil and process the soup thoroughly in batches, transferring into a clean large saucepan.

Add cream and reheat but do not boil.

Add more salt, pepper, and cream to taste and transfer to bowls.

Garnish with Basil leaves and shredded Parmesan cheese. Can also be served chilled.

Enjoy!

Serves 3-4. Prep & Cook Time approximately 1 hour.

Nutrition Information: It’s healthy enough, so shut up.

This entry was posted on Monday, August 29th, 2011 at 8:19 pm and is filed under Health & Living. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.