Steps

1. Heat the 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, celery and carrot with a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables begin to soften, 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Tie together the parsley, thyme and bay leaf with kitchen string to make a bouquet garni. Add to the sautéing vegetables along with the tomatoes, stock and balsamic vinegar. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the tomatoes have broken down and the vegetables are very soft.
3. Remove and discard the bouquet garni. Working in batches, transfer the hot soup to a blender and carefully puree until smooth. Strain the soup through a sieve into a clean saucepan and season to taste with salt and pepper and hold warm.
4. Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil over high heat. Add the basil leaves and cook for 30 seconds. Remove the leaves with a slotted spoon and immediately plunge them into a bowl of ice water. Drain the leaves and squeeze them dry.
5. Place the basil in a blender with the 1/2 cup of olive oil. Blend until smooth and strain through a very fine-mesh strainer. Season to taste with salt and pepper and place in a small zip-top bag.
6. Ladle hot soup into soup bowls. Cut a very tiny piece out of the bottom corner of the zip-top bag and use this to decoratively drizzle a bit of basil oil over each bowl of soup. Place a few of the diced green or yellow tomatoes on top and serve.

Notes

Tomato soup should taste like tomatoes and not much else. Choose deep red, ripe tomatoes as well as a nice heirloom tomato in yellow or green for a garnish.

To seed the tomatoes, simply cut them horizontally over a strainer set into a bowl to catch any juices. Squeeze each half gently and the seeds should pop right out. Reserve the juices to add to the soup.