Warming Tomato Soup
With the onset of Autumn many of us will be looking for something to warm us up on wet, rainy days... and what better than a classic tomato soup to cup your cold hands around.
Perfect for a quick warm up, in a flask for work or as a late supper or light lunch, served with some warm crispy bread rolls.
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 2lb ripe tomatoes
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 chopped onion
- 1 peeled and diced carrot
- 2 finely chopped garlic cloves
- 600ml chicken stock
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbsp crème fraîche
- Pinch of sugar
- Small bunch of basil, separated into leaves and stalks
- Extra virgin olive oil, to serve
Procedure
- Preheat the oven to 190C and cut all of the tomatoes in half, from top to bottom.
- Arrange the pieces in a baking dish with the skin down - cut side up - and drizzle with half the oil.
- Season with salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar.
- Bake for an hour until softened and signs of char around the edges.
- Heat the remaining oil in a large, heavy-based pan over a medium heat.
- Add the onion, carrot and garlic.
- Cook for about 7 minutes, stirring regularly, until softened.
- Chop the basil stalks and then add to the pan and cook for another minute.
- Add the tomatoes (plus any juices from the dish) and the chicken stock to the pan.
- Stir while bringing to the boil before turning the heat down. Cover and leave to simmer for 25 minutes, until all the vegetables are soft.
- Leave to cool slightly.
- Use a blender to purée the soup, then stir in the vinegar and crème fraîche, and season to taste.
- Reheat gently then serve - garnish with torn basil leaf and a drizzle of olive oil on top.