Tomato-basil creamy soup with caprese toast

A soup perfect for summer and that wears the flavors of Caprese. I imagined it and day-dreamed of it for two weeks before I got the chance to make it. The result was every bit up to the high expectations I had while fantasying about it. Pretty light and quite fast to make. All you need is a soup pot and a sandwich maker (and, optionally, a hand-held blender to puree the soup after it's done). :) Enjoy.

Last year: no cooking due to morning sickness (another kind of bun in the oven).


Ingredients (serves 2):

• 3-4 garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 400 g can of chopped tomatoes
• 100 g fresh tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons tomato sauce with basil (for pasta, we used Barilla)
• a handful of fresh basil leaves
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

For the toast:

• 8 square bread slices
• 125 g mozzarella (1 ball)
• 2 small tomatoes
• salt, pepper and olive oil to taste
• a few basil leaves

Chop the garlic and put it in the soup pot with the olive oil. Start frying it on low heat:

When the garlic is golden, add the tomato sauce and the fresh tomatoes (previously chopped):

Let it cook for 2-3 minutes, then add the can of chopped tomatoes, the sugar and the salt and the pepper.

Let it cook for 5 minutes more, then remove from the heat. Allow it too cool for 2-3 minutes, then add the basil leaves (you don't want to cook them so the flavor will stay as intense as possible).

Mix and puree them with an immersion blender. Then, get on the toast. Cover two bread slices with sliced tomatoes and mozzarella and sprinkle salt and pepper and basil leaves.

Top with two more bread slices and close the sandwich maker on top of them. Let the machine do its thing and in 2 minutes remove them from it. Repeat with the next two sandwiches. Cut each in half, diagonally and arrange them next to the soup.
It's done, dig in! :)