Rich tomato soup

A very nice dish for Christmas: rich and tasteful tomato soup, from tomatoes combined with basil. Best served in a (vintage) teacup, so the soup won't be all you can eat during your Christmas dish.

Ingredients (5 persons):

• 9 tomatoes;
• 1 tablespoon butter;
• 1 onion, finely chopped;
• 5 leaves basil (big) or 10 small;
• salt and pepper;
• garnish: olive oil, extra virgin;
• garnish: 3 basil leaves cut in stripes

Materials:

• Blender;
• Teacups to serve the soup.

Preparation:

Peel the tomatoes, get rid of the seeds and chop the tomatoes in very small pieces. Melt the butter in a small pan on low heat. Add the onion and cook, while stirring, about 5 minutes until the onion is soft and glazed but hasn't browned. Add the tomatoes and cook on low heat, during 30 till 40 minutes or until the tomatoes fall apart and become liquid, while stirring occasionally. Leave the lid half on the pan during that time.
Chop the basil leaves and add to the tomatoes. Get the pan of the heat and blend until it's smooth. Push through a fine sieve in a bowl. Pour back in the pan and reheat when it cooled down to much.
Serve the soup in tea cups and garnish with basil leaves. Sprinkle some olive oil on top. 

Tips and tricks:

• To peel tomatoes easily: Carve a cross on the back of the tomato with a sharp knife. Put them in boiling water for 15 seconds and immediately in cold water. Leave them for 1 minute and peel the skin of. 
• For this recipe you should use the best tomatoes you can get your hands on and your olive-oil is also pretty important for the taste, so use the nicest you can get! 

4Pure: rich tomato soup