Not My Aunty Mary’s Soup!

That was the comment hurled at me when I presented my youngest daughter with this soup.
Let me explain.
My Aunt (Mary) lives on the side of a windswept hill in the South Wales mining town of Abertillery. – simply, and diplomatically, not the most desirable of places – not the type of place where tomatoes grow outside – more likely to be raised with difficulty in a greenhouse (heating a must early on the season)
Ever a lady to place scorn on frivolities and waste, she makes an excellent soup from tinned tomatoes, carrots, onions stock cubes and a swirl of cream. We all love it.
Clearly my daughter loves it more than the offering above.
During winter time when the tomatoes overcrowding my kitchen are just a wistful memory, I will post up her recipe.
Today is more about the celebration prime, seasonal produce.
Who am I kidding?
It’s about using up these mountains of tomatoes before they slide past their best…………………….

INGREDIENTS
2 KILOS OF CHOPPED, ASSORTED TOMATOES.
2 LARGE CARROTS THINLY SLICED (I USE A MANDOLIN FOR THESE AND THE ONIONS)
4 MEDIUM ONIONS, THINLY SLICED.
100G BUTTER, UNSALTED
A SPLASH OF SUNFLOWER OIL – PREVENTS THE BUTTER FROM BURNING
600 ML OF WATER
100ML OF FRESH CREAM.
SALT TO TASTE

TO SERVE
A FEW SPINACH AND RICOTTA TORTELLINI (ABOUT 6 PER PERSON )
CHOPPED FRESH TOMATOES TO GARNISH – AS MANY VARIETIES AS YOU HAVE.
BREAD IF YOU THINK YOU CAN EAT IT.

METHOD.
1. Heat the butter and oil in a deep heavy based pan.
2. Add the onions and carrots, cover and fry gently for 15 minutes – stir regularly.
3. Add the tomatoes, stir and cover again for 10 minutes.
4. Remove lid, add the water and gently bring to the boil.
5. Cover the soup again and cook for 30 minutes on a gentle heat.
6. About 10 minutes before serving time, throw the tortellini into some boiling , salted water and cook until they rise up to the top of the pan. Drain and keep to one side
7. During the last 30 minutes, the assorted chopped tomatoes can be diced ready for the garnish.
8. When the mixture is ready, get another pan and sieve out the soup to remove the seeds and skins.
9. Just prior to serving, add the salt to taste and swirl in the cream – do not boil after this point.
10. To assemble the dish, put the tortellini in the bottom of a soup plate, slowly add the soup around them, and finally scatter over the garnish.
11. Serve and enjoy.
NOTE – I like to contrast hot and cold and soft/smooth and crunchy textures – it may not be to everyone’s taste to have cold diced tomatoes as a garnish for this soup – It is not mandatory, but at least try out the taste with a small amount of the soup – you won’t regret it. Promise.!

Confit of Tomato Soup.

Apologies for the odd sounding title, but it’s the best thing describes this soup.
I have seen recipes a plenty for roasted tomato soup, but the tomatoes in this were gently “poached” in a fruity olive oil before the other ingredients were added.
It is a big flavoured soup, so its not for the faint hearted.
Neither is an exact science – ingredients are approximate.
There are no chef touches to this – no de-seeding, skinning or sieving out of debris before serving:. What you see is what you get here – honest, rustic and good to eat.
As the family are not big on bread, I have suggested serving it with thin slivers of toasted Arab bread, and a mound of sticky, saffron rice.

One final thing before I finally get started here: A winter rendition of this dish would certainly require the addition of some sugar to soften the winter acidity of the tomatoes – here is is not needed.

INGREDIENTS
AN ASSORTMENT OF TOMATOES – CHOPPED ROUGHLY
100 ML OF GOOD, FRUITY OLIVE OIL (MORE IF NECESSARY)
6-8 CLOVES OF GARLIC, CRUSHED
A FEW GENEROUS SLOSHES OF BALSAMIC VINEGAR.
ONE RED CHILLI – MORE IF YOU ARE A HEAT JUNKIE – CHOPPED AND DE-SEEDED.
SALT TO TASTE.

TO SERVE
ARAB OR PITA BREAD, TOASTED AND SLICED THINLY
STICKY WHITE RICE, FLAVOURED WITH A PINCH OF SAFFRON

METHOD
1. Put a shallow, thick based pan on the heat to gently warm – I use a Spanish cazuela for this – it looks a bit like a two handled frying pan, with deeper than normal sides.
2. Add the olive oil to very warm slowly.
3. Add the garlic and swirl around in the pan with a spatula – Under no circumstances let it brown.
4. Add the chopped tomatoes – the oil should come about half way up the sides of them, and they should cover the pan in a single layer. Multi layers will not give the desired taste to this dish. Pour in more oil if needed.
5. Slowly let the tomatoes “poach” in the oil, with the gentlest of heat – some will lose their skins, others will break down – this is what should happen.
6. Let them cook for about 15-20 minutes, and then add the other ingredients, save the salt which should be added at the end to adjust the flavour.
7. Cover the pan and let the mixture bubble away for another 20-30 minutes, until the mixture is well broken down.
8. Remove the pan from the heat and liquidize with a hand blender.
9. The oil will amalgamate thoroughly with the tomatoes, so there will be no unsightly film on the top.
10. Serve, as suggested with toasted Arab or pita bread, and a mound of sticky white rice flavoured with a little saffron – If you have none, do not substitute with turmeric, as it is too bitter for this dish.

How Many Tomatoes Can a Haddock Grow?

I store them here

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There is no easy answer to this question I feel. Suffice to say like numerous other fellow foodies, I have them in abundance, and, try as I might, there are very few takers in these parts for gift baskets of the red orbs.
Save the odd photo shoot or two, they placidly wait to be prepared, until their owner (me) creates a selection of recipes to do them justice.
Happily, that time is now.
My favourite tomato “dish” is sliced thinly, and served with fresh bread, salted French butter and cheese (I admit to being a Cheddar aficionado),
Rest easy, I am not about to offer up a recipe for this simple creation.
I have decided on a duo of tomato soup recipes, which I will post as two different posts following this one.(too much reading otherwise)
Not very high up there for imagination or creativity, but tomato soup represents the ultimate comfort food for our family.
I recall eating this more often than not for my school packed lunch (with a Cheddar cheese sandwich),
It was my default food when pregnant (along with Liquorice Allsorts)
It was our supper last evening when we returned home from the Ile de Re, accompanied by cheese on toast (Cheddar) liberally spread with grainy mustard.
I had it for lunch today.
OK. I’ll stop now – you get the picture – I like tomato soup.