Tomato Soup
July 12, 2006
Once again, the Jamie Oliver cookbook has rescued the rotting veg on my shelf. I had 6 vine ripened tomatoes that were too ripe to cut up and eat, but I didn't have the heart to toss them out. I didn't have all of the ingredients here, in particular the carrots and a whole onion, but it still turned out rather delicious. It is important to know that following directions regarding addition of the cream/egg mixture is very important to avoid curdling.
You will need:
- 6 vine ripened tomatoes (very ripe, don't refrigerate your tomatoes!)
- 1/2 white onion, finely diced (recipe called for whole onion, but that was excessive)
- 1 minced clove of garlic
- 1 peeled and grated carrot
- handful of basil, stalks separated and chopped finely
- olive oil (about 4 tbsp)
- 5 c of vegetable or chicken stock (I used a combo of both)
- 4 tbsp of heavy cream (recipe calls for 6, again, excessive)
- 2 egg yolks
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Step One: In a large stock pot, saute the onions, basil stems, carrot, garlic in olive oil. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes with the lid on, stirring to avoid burning or sticking.
Step Two: While vegetables saute, place tomatoes in a separate pot of boiling water (boiling!) for 4-6 minutes or until the skins begin to peel away. Drain and remove skins. Chop up the tomatoes and add them to the stock pot with the onions/olive oil. Add the stock and basil leaves. Take all of this mixture and place it in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Return the pureed mixture to the stock pot and cook over medium-high heat with the lid on for 20 minutes, stirring along the way.
Step Three: While the tomato soup simmers, combine the cream and egg yolks in a bowl, whisking together. Set aside.
Step Four: When tomato puree cooks for 20 minutes, take pot off the heat and add cream/egg mixture, whisking to avoid cooking the eggs. Serve immediately, seasoning properly to taste with salt and pepper.
Note: if you don't have a lot of basil, add flat leafed Italian parsley instead.
