Tomato Bread Soup

My husband just made this recipe for dinner this evening in an attempt to use up some stale baguette we had left over from last night. It was delicious and I want him to make it again! It's adapted from a meal we had in a restaurant several weeks ago.

3 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion
2 cloves garlic
1 large can crushed tomatoes
salt & pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups water
1 tsp sugar
about 1 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
1 andouille sausage, cut into 1/3 inch coins
1/2 baguette cut into 1/2 inch slices
shredded parmesan cheese to garnish

Saute chopped onions in oil in a small dutch oven until translucent. Add garlic and saute about a minute. Add sausage and cook about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and bring to a boil. Add water and bring back to a boil. Add bread slices. Cover and simmer approximately 10 minutes. Add chopped basil and cook until basil is wilted. Add sugar, and salt & pepper to taste. Ladle into bowls and garnish generously with parmesan cheese.

Note: in the summertime, you can get fresh, ripe tomatoes in season, and I bet this recipe would be even better by using about 3 pounds of roasted tomatoes. Just halve the tomatoes, place in a roasting pan (with sides, so the juice doesn't drip!) brush with a little olive oil, and roast until skins start to peel off and tomatoes are very soft. Remove skins, and use an immersion blender to get the consistency you want. I think that little chunks of tomato would be lovely for this rustic soup, so don't overblend. You might need to add less water too.

A wine that is delicious with this soup is an Argentinian torrontes. This is a white grape varietal exclusive to Argentina and is sturdy enough to stand up to the spicy meat and acidic tomatoes in this recipe. It is slightly reminiscent of a viognier with some peach scents, so it is also nice with any spicy or garlicky foods and intense cheeses.