Creamy Basil Tomato Soup with Italian Sausage

The other day I had to take my car into the shop for a routine oil change.  It's bad enough that I usually leave with a host of other services that my car also allegedly needs (really?!).  But!  I usually take my car to the local Sears Auto, which just so happens to be attached to a mall.  This is not good for my wallet. In the past, I have wandered around outside to extricate myself from the vortex of mall shopping.  No good can come from that.

Unfortunately, there is a Target down the street...We ALL know the end of that story, right?

So on this particular day, I decided that I would save myself and my wallet by bringing my own cup of coffee and plastering my bum to the chair in the Sears Auto department so that I would not wander around and buy that sparkly green eyeshadow and my seventh infinity scarf of the season.  (Even though I neeeeeed those!) Somehow, I made it through a three-hour wait and was able to return home, empty-handed!  So I promptly rewarded myself with soup.  Not just any soup.  Creamy Basil Tomato Soup with Italian Sausage.

Creamy Basil Tomato Soup

slightly adapted from AllRecipes and Picky Palate's recipes

makes ~4 servings

Print Recipe

• 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
•  1 lb Italian sausage
• 15-20 fresh basil leaves, chiffonade (stacked, rolled and thinly sliced)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup 2% milk
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Prepare the sauce:

1) In a medium pot, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat.

2) Saute the garlic in the oil until tender, about 2 minutes.

3) Stir in the basil, oregano, and crushed tomatoes.

4) Season with salt and pepper, then cook 15-20 minutes, until the sauce is slightly thickened.

Prepare the soup:

5) Over medium heat, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot.

6) Add the sausage and cook until browned, 5-10 minutes.

7) Stir in the sauce, basil leaves, water, cream, milk, salt and pepper.  Cook until warm, then reduce the heat to low.

8)  Allow the soup to simmer for 10-15 minutes before serving.

You may think that this soup appears to have the same color as a vodka sauce.  That would be because it has the same main ingredients as a vodka sauce: cream and tomato sauce.  Minus the vodka.  Which is a shame.

The soup works really nicely with the sausage, spices, and basil.  Let's face it.  I pretty much overdose on fresh basil at every possible moment.  I even put fresh basil in all my salads.  Overdosing so hard.  But in a good way.

This soup turned out to be the perfect quick meal because it took me no time to whip everything together and have a fantastic bite to eat. I love recipes like this.  I wish the recipe gods would pass a few more of these dishes my way. Please and thank you.