Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper(to taste)
Instructions
Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium-low heat. Add the onions and sauté for 10 minutes, until they start to turn golden brown. Add the garlic and sauté for 2 minutes more.
Add the canned tomatoes, broth, tomato paste, and saffron (if using) to the pot, turn the heat to high, and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to gently simmer uncovered for another 20 minutes. Stir in the cream, and make sure to heat through. Taste and adjust the seasonings.
Serve hot.
Notes
Saffron in Tomato SoupYou probably have all of the ingredients on hand except perhaps the cream and the saffron. Saffron is the priciest spice of all and with good reason.Saffron threads are the stamens that come from the flower of a type of crocus that only grows in some parts of the world (Iran and Spain are two big producers). The harvesting process is laborious, and the flowers are rather stingy with their threads. Each flower, which blooms for one week of the year, produces three to four stamens, which must be carefully hand-picked and then dried.