Tomato Soup
Ingredients:
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 - 8oz can tomato sauce
4 cups (1 box) chicken stock
1 large onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
extra virgin olive oil
10 leaves fresh basil (frozen can be used in its place)
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp sugar
Directions:
Saute onion and garlic until softened in extra virgin olive oil. When onions are translucent add diced tomatoes and let cook over medium high heat for about 10 minutes. Add sauce and stock and let it come to a boil. Season with salt, pepper and sugar and basil. Reduce heat to medium and let cook for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste and season accordingly. Blend with immersion (stick) blender until smooth. Serve with grated pecorino romano cheese.
Cheesy Garlic Toasts
Ingredients:
1 loaf of crusty Italian bread
2 tablespoons softened butter
2 cloves garlic, minced to a paste (chop garlic, top with a little salt and smash with side of knife)
2 tablespoons pecorino romano cheese
parmigiano reggiano cheese
piave cheese
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Slice bread into 1/2 inch slices. Combine butter, garlic and romano cheese. Spread on bread slices. Grate parmigiano and piave over each slice.
Bake for 10 minutes or until bread is crispy. If you want the cheese to have a little more color, turn the broiler on and broil for 5 minutes. ( Make sure you watch them so they don't burn.)
