So, okay… I know that’s not technically Spring until March 20 BUT… usually this time of year we start to see a bit of a thaw when it comes to the weather.

This year, Mother Nature has devised other plans. Nor’easter after nor’easter has been hammering New England and tomorrow, we’re expecting our THIRD in just a couple of weeks. Nuts! It’ll potentially add an extra foot of snow to the foot we received last weekend!

To combat a sequel of the winter blues, I whipped up this super easy, delicious and comforting (not-to-mention, no fuss!) version of tomato soup. Top with a dollop of sour cream and Parmesan crisps and whatever snow is outside your window will melt away…well, figuratively, at least.

Once you’ve roasted the tomatoes, this soup comes together in just a matter of minutes! A perfect pick-me-up when the weather outside really is frightful.

Creamy Tomato Soup with Parmesan Crisps

• Servings: 4
• Print

Perfect for a cold winter day.

Ingredients

For the soup:
• 8-10 fresh tomatoes, quartered (Use any tomato you’d like, I used 10 medium-sized tomatoes well but I also threw in a few smaller tomatoes I had lying around that were on the brink. If you use larger tomatoes, just reduce quantity)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, finely minced (roasting the garlic with the tomatoes tempers the bite of raw garlic, but if you’d like to reduce the quantity here, feel free to play with what works best for your taste buds!)
• 1/3 cup chicken or vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 tbsp fresh basil, minced
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

For Parmesan crips:

• Parmesan cheese
• Black pepper

Directions

For soup:
1. Preheat your oven to 400*F and line a baking sheet with foil.
2. Quarter your tomatoes (I used Roma) and toss in a large bowl with the minced garlic and olive oil. Add salt and pepper, to taste.
3. Pour onto the lined the baking sheet, and roast in the oven for about 25-30 minutes, until the tomatoes have given off some of their juices and the garlic has roasted.
4. Pour roasted tomatoes, garlic, oil and the juices into a large pot and blend using an immersion blender. Once the tomatoes have reached a consistency you like ( I prefer them to have a little bit of texture still), add the broth and season with the salt and pepper.
5. Simmer on low/medium-low (watch out for splatters!) for about 10 minutes.
6. After 10 minutes, take your soup off the heat. Heat your cream in the microwave for 15-20 seconds and then add to the soup along with the basil and serve!

Directions

For the Parmesan crisps:
1. Keep the oven heated to 400*F.
2. Line a baking sheet with foil and place Parmesan cheese in six, 1 tablespoon piles across the sheet, leaving a couple of inches between each pile. Sprinkle with black pepper.
3. Place pan in the oven for 5-10 minutes — keep an eye on your crisps. Once they turn a light brown pull them out and let them cool on the sheet. They’ll get crunchier as they sit!