1 medium onion
1 medium carrot
1 rib celery leaves and all
2 cloves garlic
1 lb Roma tomatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup vegetable or chicken stock
salt
freshly ground black pepper
sugar
optional:
whipping cream or sour cream
Chop up the onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Sauté the vegetables in the olive oil until they soften and start to brown. Be careful because too much browning will make it bitter. Chop up the tomatoes and add the soup. Add the stock. Simmer until the carrots are soft. Pass through a Foley mill or coarse sieve. Season to taste with the salt, pepper and sugar.
I like to serve it barely warm with a drizzle of cream over the top. I accompany it with foccacia and a salad made of lots of different greens, sprinkled with walnuts and vinaigrette dressing.