Tomato-Basil Soup, #recipe by @LeslieBudewitz #giveaway (2024)

I ate there often, alone or with colleagues and friends, and regularly grabbed a takeout lunch. When I started writing the Spice Shop Mysteries, I resurrected the long-gone restaurant as Ripe, the domain of Pepper Reece’s good friend, chef and caterer Laurel Halloran. I’ve set several scenes in Ripe, partly because it’s well-placed in downtown Seattle for Pepper to drop in when she needs a bite or an ear, and partly because I loved the place. And writing, like reading, allows us to revisit old haunts whenever we feel the urge.

Over the years, I’ve recreated several of my favorites from the corner deli, including a Tortellini Salad served up in Treble at the Jam Fest, the fourth book in my Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries.

But one that eluded me was the Tomato-Basil Soup. Tomato soup is a classic, especially with bread and cheese in the form of a grilled cheese sandwich or Ripe’s herb-and-cheese breadsticks. I’ve got several recipes, involving fresh tomatoes, canned tomatoes, even roasted tomatoes, cream or no cream, and other variations. I love them all, but none was exactly what my mouth remembered.

So when The Solace of Bay Leaves began to take shape in my mind, I knew Pepper and I would be serving up soup. And when I discovered that a key ingredient in the story would be the investigation of the still-unsolved murder, three years ago, of Laurel’s husband, I knew I needed to figure out that tomato-basil soup. I couldn’t find a recipe online, even though I was sure Pasta & Company had once issued a cookbook. Happily, Mr. Right loves tomato soup as much as I do and willingly served as taste tester. (And no, it contains no bay leaves. Let that be our little secret.)

It’s no secret that cooking and eating are deeply evocative. One whiff, one taste, and we’re transported back to a physical place or a mental space. Physical therapists refer to “muscle memory,” but I think memory itself is a muscle, one that transports us through the maps of our own lives.

You’re thinking about soup right now, aren’t you? The chicken soup your mother made when you were sick; even if it came from a can, as my mother’s did, it speaks of caring and concern. The chili you had at the tailgater on your first date with your spouse. The French onion soup on a brisk winter day in Paris, France or Paris, Texas or a hole-in-the-wall restaurant with Formica counters and linoleum floors in a town whose name you can’t quite dredge up, but dang, that soup was good.

I hope you’ll enjoy Laurel’s Tomato-Basil Soup and that you’ll let it, and me, take you on a trip to Seattle in The Solace of Bay Leaves.

Leave a comment below for a chance to win a signed ARC of The Solace of Bay Leaves, out in paperback October 20.

Laurel’s Tomato-Basil Soup

A favorite at Ripe, easy to recreate at home.

4 large tomatoes, cored, seeded, and coarsely chopped

4 cups tomato juice

12-14 small to medium basil leaves

½ cup heavy cream

1/4 to 1/3 cup butter

kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Basil leaves or edible flowers for garnish

Place chopped tomatoes and juice in a stock pot, on medium heat. Simmer about 30 minutes.

Add the basil leaves. Remove from heat and use a blender or immersion blender to create a chunky puree.

Return puree to stock pot. Add cream and butter; stir well. Season to taste. Reheat, but don’t boil, stirring until the butter is melted.

Serve and garnish.

Serves 4.

Talk to me about soup! Or tomatoes. Or recipes you've recreated from a memory of a dish you loved. One lucky reader will win a signed ARC of The Solace of Bay Leaves. Be sure to leave your email address! (US addresses only; winner will be chosen Friday, October 9.)