Recipe: La Madeleine's Tomato-Basil Soup

LA MADELEINE'S TOMATO-BASIL SOUP
Recipe by: La Madeleine French Bakery & Cafe, Dallas TX
Source: Cathy Barber, Food Editor of the Dallas Morning News, on 3/4/98
Servings: 8

4 cups tomatoes; peel, cored and chopped OR 4 cups canned whole tomatoes, crushed
4 cups unsalted tomato juice
12 to 14 fresh basil leaves, chopped (plus additional for garnish)
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup unsalted butter; softened
1/4 tsp cracked black pepper
salt; to taste
crusty French bread (optional)

Combine tomatoes and juice in saucepan. Simmer for 30 minutes over medium-low heat.

Cool slightly, then place in a blender or food processor. Add basil and process to puree; this will have to be done in batches.

Return mixture to saucepan. Add cream and butter. Stir over low heat until butter and cream are incorporated. Stir in salt and pepper before serving.

Garnish with more fresh basil and serve with fresh, crusty bread.

Chef's Notes:
"You've asked for it, again and again. We've asked for it. But until now, la Madeleine would not reveal the recipe for its much loved Tomato Basil Soup. Not that the recipe isn't out there; supposedly the company allowed it to be published in a charity cookbook early on, before the soup became everyone's favorite. Then one day the recipe materialized, buried at the back of a great big press kit announcing la Mad's 15th birthday. Forget the cake, even the macaroons; we'll celebrate with a steaming mug of tomato basil."

"We sampled two homemade batches, one with vine-ripened fresh tomatoes, one with imported canned tomatoes, against soup from the restaurant. The restaurant soup was thicker, almost chunky, compared to the homemade, and it had a richer tomato flavor."

With eight Dallas-Ft. Worth locations, La Madeleine Bakery & Cafes are some of the most popular restaurants in the DFW Metroplex. Headquartered in Dallas, La Madeleine also has locations in Louisiana and Washington, D.C. In addition to their marvelous breads and pastries, La Madeleine is famous for two of its soups: Tomato Basil and French Onion Gratinee, or Soupe a l'Oignon Gratinee (and the Caesar Salad isn't bad, either!).