Place olive oil in a saucepan over the stove at medium heat. Add chopped onion, garlic and carrot and cook until onion is translucent and carrot is soft.
Add Roma tomatoes chop in quarters, tomato paste and 3 cups of vegetable stock. Simmer until tomato is soft and easily breaks apart -about 25 to 30 minutes. Vegetable stock will be heavily reduced, so once everything is cooked, add one more cup if you like a less thick soup. It could be vegetable stock or water.
Place the vegetables in a high-speed blender, add basil leaves and thyme. Blend until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve the soup warm. Garnish with fresh leaves, a drizzle of sour cream or yoghurt and a piece of low carb bread.
Notes
Tips
You can use canned tomatoes but give some extra cooking time as canned tomatoes (2 large cans) take longer to release the tangy taste. You could accelerate the process by adding 1 tablespoon of brown sugar.
The soup is great for meal planning. Leave some servings in the freezer and unthaw them before serving. They’ll last up to three months.
Using ripe tomatoes will impact directly on the taste of the soup.