Tomato Soup

This is the best tomato soup we've ever had!  It's super easy to make and I highly recommend dipping a grilled cheese in it.  The key to a great grilled cheese (same as an over easy egg), is slow and low when it comes to heat.

INGREDIENTS

1 medium white or yellow onion
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
Two 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes
One 46-ounce bottle or can tomato juice
3 to 6 tablespoons sugar
1 or 2 tablespoons chicken base, or 3 chicken bouillon cubes
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup sherry, optional
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

DIRECTIONS

• To begin, dice the onion. Melt the butter in a large pot or Dutch oven. Throw in the onion and cook until translucent.
• Now dump in the diced tomatoes and stir to combine. Add the tomato juice.
• Next - and this is important - in order to combat the acidity of the tomatoes add 3 to 6 tablespoons of sugar. Now, you'll want to start on the low side, then taste and add more as needed. Some tomatoes and juice have more of an acidic bite than others. (For what it's worth, and I realize it's not worth much, I use 6 tablespoons of sugar.)
• Next, add 1 or 2 tablespoons chicken base to the pot. I added 3, and it wound up being a little too much.
• Now you can add lots of freshly ground black pepper. Stir to combine, then heat almost to a boil. Then turn off the heat.
• Add in the sherry if desired. Stir in the cream. Add the basil and parsley and stir.