There is nothing better than a hot bowl of tomato soup on a cold winter’s day. You will be loved all day long for serving the perfect meal at just the right moment. And if you’ve baked sourdough or soda bread, you’ll be walking on water.
The Tomato
Tomato soup is delightfully easy to make, but it relies on super-tasty ripe, juicy late-season tomatoes and a delicate balance of spices. Apologies, I’m more than a little late posting this recipe due to a chaotic late summer and Autumn. I am therefore hoping a) you have a stash of bottled, fresh tomato sauce in your store cupboard, or b) you can lay your hands on very good-quality Italian tinned tomatoes, or c) pick up some ripe, plump cherry tomatoes; however, you will need more cherry tomatoes (or top up with tinned tomatoes) for the same quantity of soup. You will also need a food mill or a strong sieve, as peeling a cherry tomato is not an option😃.
Any of these variations, including, of course, ripe fresh tomatoes, will make a fabulous soup. However, avoid using fresh tomatoes out of season – they are often tasteless and will disappoint.
Use an Italian Food Mill for a Silky Smooth Soup
If you have one, the Italian food mill comes into its own, even for tinned tomatoes. The result is a significantly superior, silky-smooth soup with a lovely depth of flavour. You don’t need to peel the tomatoes because the food mill does all the work. You can also use a good, strong sieve, which I think is still preferable to a stick blender. But I understand it’s more work, especially with the cherry tomatoes. If you go for the stick blender method, remove the tomato peel and any tough core.
Chilli, Saffron, Garlic, Strip of Orange Peel and Sherry Vinegar
Prepare the tomato soup according to the recipe. Then, taste and adjust to your liking—more salt, sherry vinegar, garlic, chilli, and black pepper are all individual preferences. If your basil plants are still alive, don’t put them into the sauce. Instead, place them at the bottom of the bowl and pour the soup over the top, releasing their delicious perfume. By all means, decorate your soup with a few basil leaves.
Serve it as is, sprinkled with chilli and crumbled feta (or any soft cheese), grated hard cheese, or swirl in some yoghurt, fresh cream, harissa, or crème fraîche.
There’s a big soup library these days—click here for plenty of ideas.
Tomato Soup
Ingredients
- 1 kilo tomatoes – roughly chopped (quarters is fine) skins removed if you are blending rather than using the food mill – you will need 1.5 kilos if using cherry tomatoes
- 2 large sweet onions – finely chopped
- 2 medium carrots – grated
- 1 medium sweet red pepper (finely sliced)
- 1 fresh banana chill optional
- 1 rib celery very finely sliced (including leaves)
- 1 medium potato (about 100 g)
- 1 pinch saffron
- 1 bay leaf
- small strip of orange peel
- 500 plus ml vegetable or chicken stock
- 2 tbsp concentrated tomato paste
- olive oil
- freshly ground black pepper and salt
Instructions
- In a large, heavy-based pan, add the olive oil. When warm, add the grated carrot, onions, red pepper, bay leaf, orange peel, potato, and celery.
- Sauté until soft and translucent, then add the tomatoes (fresh, canned or sauce), garlic and saffron. Season with black pepper, then simmer until the tomatoes have dissolved and broken down, forming a gooey sauce.
- Remove the bay leaf and orange rind. Push all the sauce through a food mill or sieve, or if you have peeled the tomatoes, by all means, puree with a stick blender.
- At this point, you can freeze the sauce and finish seasoning when you're ready to use it. The tomato sauce is not suitable for bottling because it contains olive oil.
- To finish the soup, return the sauce to a large pan. Add a tbsp of the tomato paste and 200ml of the stock. Bring to the boil and simmer. Add a tbsp of sherry vinegar and taste to see if you need to add more salt, pepper, stock, or a little more tomato paste. It varies depending on the quality of the tomatoes and how rich, thick, or thin you want the soup to be.
- To serve – season with a little more chilli, then swirl in yoghurt or crème fraîche.
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