Recipe for 4 portions
1. Make the tomato paste
Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan). Pluck the basil leaves off the stalks. Add all the stalks and ½ of the basil leaves to a tall container. Add the dried tomatoes, 2Tbsp olive oil and 4Tbsp water. Blend with a stick blender until a paste forms.
2. Bake the croûtons
Cut the bread into bite-sized pieces. Toss the bread on a lined baking tray with the dried tomato paste. Drizzle with 2Tbsp olive oil. Sprinkle and distribute the bacon cubes onto the baking tray. Bake everything for 12–14min. until golden and crisp, mixing halfway though baking.
3. Cut the vegetables
Cut the tomatoes into large chunks. Slice the leek into thin rounds.
4. Sauté the leek
Heat up a large pot on medium-high heat. Add 1Tbsp olive oil and the leek to the pot and sauté for 4–5min. until softened.
5. Add the tomatoes
Stir 2Tbsp of flour into the leek, then deglaze with 1Tbsp of balsamic vinegar. Add the tomato chunks to the pot and sauté everything together for 1min. Season with ½tsp of salt.
6. Finish the soup
Add the passata and 100ml water to the pot. Turn the heat to medium and let the soup simmer for ca. 5min. Then add the cooking cream and let simmer for ca. 1min. Blend the soup to the desired creaminess. Adjust the consistency with water and season with salt to taste. Serve the soup garnished with the remaining basil leaves, the bacon cubes and the dried tomato croûtons.