Stolen Vegan Tomato Soup

My friend, Leslie made this soup for me one night a few weeks ago. I snagged the recipe and made a big batch last night. I am no food critic, but I know good food and this is the best tomato soup I have ever had.

To blend hot food so that it doesn't erupt and burn you, do not fill blender more than a third full. I only did two ladles of soup at a time. For extra precaution place a towel over blender and hold firmly over lid. Turn on blender at its lowest speed and increase speed after it is blended a bit.

Stolen Vegan Tomato Soup

2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 cup of chopped onion
1/4 cup of chopped celery
1 leek white and green- chopped
3 cups organic veggie broth
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes-chopped
3-14oz cans diced tomatoes
1- 8 oz can of tomato sauce
2 springs of fresh thyme
1 cup almond milk or other non-dairy milk product
2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
fresh ground pepper

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, celery and leek and saute until soft, about 8 -10 minutes. Add vegetable broth, sun-dried tomatoes, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and thyme. Bring to a simmer and cook 20 minutes.

Remove thyme stems and discard. Puree soup in a blender, adding only a few ladles at a time. (see notes above) Pour into a second bowl until complete. Pour all the blended soup back in the saucepan and stir in milk, vinegar and pepper and simmer for another 10 minutes.
Serves six.

I also added fresh chopped basil to my batch.
Delish!