Tomato soup with fresh tarragon

Ingredients

• 6 cups vegetable stock (my favorite is Better Than Bouillon )
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 sweet onion
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 bay leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon red chile flakes
• 1/2 cup chopped tarragon
• 2 x 28 oz cans of whole tomatoes or 8 cups ripe, seeded, peeled tomatoes
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

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Preparation

• Heat 6 cups of vegetable stock in a large pot on low to medium heat.
• If you are using canned tomatoes, you may want to cut down the amount of broth. Canned tomatoes are surprisingly salty.
• In an separate pot, saute the chopped onions with 2 tablespoons of butter.
• Once the onions are translucent, add the garlic, bay leaves, chile, and half the tarragon.
• Saute for a couple of minutes. While that is cooking, drain and chop the canned tomatoes.
• Add the tomatoes to the onion mixture and cook for 10 minutes. Then add the broth, bring to a boil, and then simmer for 15 minutes.
• Once the soup is cooked, add to a blender and puree a couple ladles full at a time.
• If you fill the bender to full with hot liquid, the lid will come flying off and you will have hot soup all over the kitchen.
• Once all the soup has been pureed, stir in the cream and remaining tarragon. Bring the soup to a simmer before serving.