I had a fridge glut of tomatoes today, having bought a huge amount to make some friends a Tomato Tart for lunch this week. As they cancelled, we ate a smaller version ourselves using only some of them. Then we were given some lovely garden ones, and there were some left over ones in the salad box. So soup it was. My mum puts bacon into hers but I didn't have any and also had a mind to the vegetarians who might like some when it comes out of the freezer. I did once have a recipe for a really rich version, using a tin of beef consomme (which I didn't have) with single cream to finish, but again the vegetarians wouldn't eat that and anyway I couldn't find the recipe - that is the hazard of my kind of collecting and recording. This simple version worked fine and tasted like the last of summer.
Tomato Soup
2lbs approx tomatoes - they should be ripe and as local as you can get them; the little ones from the supermarket are the best bet if not
2 medium onions
2 cloves garlic
2 pints veg stock made up according to the instructions ( if feeding vegetarians is not your concern, use chicken stock, homemade or otherwise)
Tomato Soup
2lbs approx tomatoes - they should be ripe and as local as you can get them; the little ones from the supermarket are the best bet if not
2 medium onions
2 cloves garlic
2 pints veg stock made up according to the instructions ( if feeding vegetarians is not your concern, use chicken stock, homemade or otherwise)
- Soften the finely chopped onions slowly in a little olive oil.
- Add the garlic and let it all mix for acouple of minutes.
- Add your toms, chopped up if very large; stir around and soften.
- Add the hot stock, bring to the boil and simmer. Lots of soups are better for a long simmer to let all the flavours mingle but this one relies on freshness so about 10 mins is enough.
- Blend, with a hand held or in the processor. As tomato skins can be tough and there might be seeds as well, you might want to sieve the result as well but I didn't today and it was fine. Just a few odd bits in my teeth!
- Now taste. Add salt and lots of pepper. If is too thick, add a little more stock; it is more likely to be thin as tomatoes are juicy. If it is bland, once you have added S&P, you could boost it with tomato paste but only a very little as this can be harsh tasting; you could even add a tin of tomatoes and blend them in though that defeats some of the object. If your toms were full of flavour, as at this time of year they should be, it will taste divine and surprisingly creamy.
- Add some torn up basil to heat through and then serve with a blob of yoghurt in each bowl.
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