11th August 2011

Chunky Tomato Soup

Serves 4 

Soup is one of the most traditional of dishes on the British culinary scene, and local ‘pot’ vegetables were used in the beginning, perhaps with a little grain or, when they were lucky, some meat. When tomatoes gradually came to be accepted, some two centuries or so after they had been introduced from the New World, they were pounded to make soups or acid sauces or ketchups. Apparently it wasn’t until the twentieth century that we were brave enough to eat these scarlet imports raw!

Ingredients

2 oz unsalted butter
4 oz each of carrots, peeled onion and celery, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1 1/2 lb tomatoes, roughly chopped basil stalks
A handful of parsley stalks
1tbsp fresh chopped thyme
A pinch of unrefined caster sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 pints chicken stock
5 fl oz single cream
 

Garnish

10 tomatoes, skinned and seeded (use the skins and seeds in the soup, so do this first) a splash of olive oil a bunch of fresh basil, chopped (use the stalks in the soup) 1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped.

Method

Melt the butter in a large pan, and sweat the finely chopped carrot, onion and celery together. Do not colour. After 3 minutes, add the garlic, the skins and seeds of the garnish tomatoes, and the chopped tomatoes, along with the basil stalks, parsley stalks, thyme, sugar and some salt and pepper to taste.

Stew gently for about 10 minutes. When almost all of the liquid has disappeared, add the chicken stock, and cook gently for 20 minutes. Pass the soup and vegetables through a sieve. Put back into a clean pan and bring back to the boil. Add the cream and check the seasoning. Chop the skinned garnish tomatoes into neat dice. Warm them in the splash of oil with the basil and garlic. Pour into the soup, and serve.