Creamy tomato soup

• 4 tbsp infused olive oil

  Set your infusion strength above and this splits into infused and plain olive oil to hit whatever dose you want.

• 2 tbspolive oil — plain, for the onion
• 56 ozcanned whole peeled tomatoes — two cans, with their juice
• 1large onion — sliced thin
• 4garlic cloves — sliced
• 1 tbsptomato paste
• 2 cupschicken or vegetable stock
• ½ cupheavy cream
• 1 tspsugar
• basil leaves — torn, to finish
• salt and black pepper

Method

1. 01

   Sweat the onion in the plain olive oil over medium-low heat until soft and sweet with no color on it. This pan stays hot for ten minutes, which is exactly the kind of step that should never get the infused oil.

   10 min

2. 02

   Add the garlic for a minute, then the tomato paste, and keep stirring until the paste darkens to brick red. Cooking the paste takes the tinny raw edge off it.

   3 min

3. 03

   Add the tomatoes, crushing each one in your hand as it goes in, then the stock, sugar and a good pinch of salt. Simmer uncovered until the raw tomato smell is gone and the soup has tightened slightly.

   25 min

4. 04

   Blend until completely smooth. If you use an upright blender, fill it halfway and vent the lid — hot soup expands and will lift the lid off.

5. 05

   Return the soup to the pot over low heat and stir in the cream. Do not let it boil after the cream goes in.

6. 06

   Take the pot off the burner entirely and let it stop steaming, then whisk in the infused olive oil until you cannot see beads of it on the surface. Floating oil is a concentrated dose waiting for whoever gets that ladleful.

   2 min

7. 07

   Ladle six even bowls at the stove and carry them to the table. A pot with a ladle in it invites topping up, and a second helping is a second dose whether or not anyone thinks of it that way.

8. 08

   Finish each bowl with torn basil and coarse pepper.

9. 09

   Leftovers keep three days in labeled containers. Reheat gently and whisk again before serving — the oil separates as it sits cold.