Step 1

Melt butter in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add thyme, onion, and garlic. Season with salt. Cook until onion is completely soft and translucent, 10–12 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high; add tomato paste. Continue cooking, stirring often, until paste has begun to caramelize in spots, 5–6 minutes—it will begin to stick to the bottom of the pan.

Step 2

Add tomatoes with juices and 4 cups water to pot. Increase heat to high; bring to a simmer. As the plum tomatoes rise to the surface while the soup simmers, use scissors to cut them up. (You’ll purée it later, but somehow I think cutting them up, helps them cook down better.) Reduce heat to medium. Simmer until flavors meld and soup reduces to about 1 quart, 45 minutes or so. Remove soup from heat; discard thyme sprigs. Working in small batches, purée soup in a blender until smooth or purée with an immersion blender.

Step 3

Stir in ¼ cup cream. Taste and adjust as needed. I like adding the teaspoon of sugar, and I add at least a teaspoon of kosher salt (probably 1.5 teaspoons, but I like salt, so season to taste). I like lots of fresh cracked pepper, too. Simmer soup until flavors meld, 5  to 10 minutes longer. Taste again, and add more cream, if desired.

Step 4

Ladle soup into bowls and shave Parmigiano Reggiano over top. Serve with more pepper on the side and bread.