Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup diced onion
½ cup diced celery
1 pinch salt
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (32 ounce) container chicken broth, or more as needed
1 (28 ounce) can crushed San Marzano tomatoes
½ teaspoon paprika
1 pinch freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
3 tablespoons uncooked jasmine rice
1 teaspoon white sugar, or to taste
½ cup heavy whipping cream
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream, divided
2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil leaves, divided
Directions
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat; cook and stir onion and celery with a pinch of salt until onion is translucent, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Pour chicken broth and tomatoes into onion mixture. Bring to a simmer and season with paprika, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Turn heat to low and stir rice into soup; skim foam occasionally and simmer until rice and vegetables are very tender, 35 to 45 minutes. Add sugar.
Blend soup with an immersion blender in the pot until smooth. Whisk 1/2 cup cream into soup and season with salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and sugar if needed. If soup is too thick, add more broth; if soup is too thin, cook, stirring often, until reduced and slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.
Ladle into warmed bowls; garnish each bowl with a drizzle of cream and top each with about 1 teaspoon chopped basil.