Tomato & Bread Soup

Too tired to go to the market tonight, on my way back home, I thought about what I could possibly make for dinner. Knowing I had a can of whole plum tomatoes, an onion, garlic, fresh basil, parmesan, and a stale half of a baguette left over from a dinner party, I decided to create my own rendition of a spicy tomato and bread soup. I'm so excited to share this stroke of genius with you that I'm literally typing the recipe as I eat! This soup is savory, filling, and delicious--not to mention a good option for those on a budget.

Tomato & Bread Soup

Ingredients:

1 can whole tomatoes
1 onion, chopped
5 cloves of garlic, chopped
bunch of fresh sweet basil, chopped
1 tsp sriracha sauce
a tiny bit of butter
olive oil
salt
pepper
sugar
stale baguette bread (whatever you've got lying around), toasted and crumbled into fine pieces
parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. In a skillet, saute the chopped onion and garlic over medium heat until lightly browned

2. Over the skillet, pull apart each canned tomato and let it drop over the onions and garlic. Repeat until you've done this for all of the tomatoes. Let saute for a little bit, until the mixture incorporates. Pour the leftover tomato juice into the mixture and bring to a boil.

3. Reduce heat and fill a quarter of the empty tomato can with water. Pour water into the mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste and cover with a lid. Let simmer for 5 minutes.

4. Add a tsp of sugar to the soup, stir, and cover again. Let simmer 5 more minutes.

5. Add a drizzle of sriracha sauce and add crumbled bread crumbs and a sliver of butter to the mixture. Stir everything together.

6. Add fresh basil and a drizzle of olive oil. Taste-- adjust salt, pepper, sugar, and sriracha as desired.

7. Voila! Serve with crumbled parmesan cheese over the top-- perfect with a lovely glass of Rioja

Note: For those desiring something more decadent, I would recommend adding fresh red chiles, cream, and fennel!