The temperatures dipped a bit the last few days so I felt like making a comforting soup to warm me up. Since I still had tomatoes to use up, I was thinking of tomato basil soup. Of course I love to put a twist on things so I decided to make it a spicy Thai style tomato basil soup. I enjoyed this soup so much during the "tasting" process that I sat down to eat it before I even thought of taking my pictures. When my kids came home from school they saw the soup pot on the stove and asked for soup to be their after school snack. I wasn't sure if they would enjoy the spicy flavors, but I guess after requests for seconds it was a hit for them too.
Ingredients:
5-6 large ripe tomatoes (peel skin off tomato first)
1 medium onion chopped
2 green chilies chopped
4 cups chicken stock (low sodium)
3-4 garlic grated
1/2 inch ginger grated
red chili flakes to taste
2-4 Tbs fish sauce (as needed for salt flavor)
1-2 tsp curry powder (I used McCormick brand)
1 tsp brown sugar ( to taste and depending on how sweet your tomatoes are naturally)
salt and black pepper as needed
1 can (15oz) coconut milk
1/2 cup Thai Basil leaves
lime wedges at the table for anyone who wants a squeeze of it.
Tip: To peel skin off tomatoes mark an "x" on the bottom of tomatoes with a sharp knife just to pierce the skin. Next, put tomatoes into boiling water for a few seconds, then plunge them into a bowl of iced water. This will stop the tomato from cooking and further loosen the skin. Remove the cooled tomato and peel away the skin.
Directions:
On medium high heat, add 2 Tbs of canola oil in a large soup pot. Add onion and chilies to fry for 2-3 minutes Then add garlic and ginger to saute for 1 minute. Next add the chopped tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes.
Then add curry powder, fish sauce, sugar and red chili flakes. Next add 4 cups of chicken stock and bring to a rapid simmer for 20 minutes. Then add Thai Basil leaves and coconut milk and cook for 5 more minutes. 
Take an immersion blender or food processor and blend until soup is fully smooth. Then pour soup through a wire mesh strainer to separate out any small pieces left behind and make soup creamy. Taste for seasoning and serve hot. Enjoy.
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