Tomato Soup with Chard, Cannellini Beans

Tomato soup has to be by far one of the yummiest soups to make for just about any occasion. I stewed my own tomatoes the first time I made this and it was amazing but summer is over and good tomatoes for stewing are hard to find. This recipe is tomato soup not basic tomato soup, it is spruced up a bit. You can leave the beans, chard and tortellini out if your looking for something basic. This soup is very easy because you can use a few items from a can which saves lots of time in the kitchen. Give it a try and enjoy!!! 

This soup goes really well with Pinot Noir. I was down to one glass off Steehead Pinot Noir so I decided to open the bottle of Irony. There was nothing ironic about it they were both actually very good and the perfect light wine for tomato soup.

Ingredients
(Makes about 4-5 big bowls)
1/2 onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, diced
1/2 tbs basil 
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (or more depnding on the heat that you like)
1/2 tsp salt
1 can tomato paste
12 oz whole peeled tomatoes (crushed)
5-6 cups vegetable broth
1 can cannellini beans, rinsed 
4-5 leaves of chard, chopped
1 package of cooked tortellini (optional)

Saute the garlic and onions on low for 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and seasoning stir until the paste is coated with onions and seasoning, cook for a 2 minutes on low. Next add the cans of tomatoes, beans, vegetable broth, cover and cook on a medium heat for 15-20 minutes. Add the chard & tortellini and cook for 5 more minutes. Top with Asiago or Parmesan cheese.

*If you like thick stew style soup just use 4 1/2-5 cups of broth.