Classic Tomato Soup

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion chopped
• coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme (or ½ teaspoon dried thyme)
• 2 cans (14.5 ounces each) reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 2 cans (28 ounces each) whole peeled tomatoes in juice (with basil if available)

Instructions

1. 1
   In a 5-quart saucepan or Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat; add oil and onion, season with salt and pepper. Cook until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in flour and tomato paste, cook 1 minute.
2. 2
   To saucepan, add thyme, broth, and tomatoes, breaking up tomatoes with your fingers. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, 30 minutes. (Remove thyme sprigs before blending.)
3. 3
   Using an immersion blender, purée soup in pot, leaving a fair amount of the tomatoes in chunks. Or, working in several batches, purée half (5 cups) of the soup in a conventional blender until smooth; return to pot. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately, or let cool to room temperature before dividing among airtight containers (leaving 1 inch of space at the top) and freezing.