As a small
child, himself knew his great grandmother, a Victorian lady who apparently had
a habit of going around with her skirt tucked into her bloomers. Her great grandson remembers that she adored tomato soup, which she would sop up with chunks of bread. I never met her, but I have a
vision of a Queen Victoria-like figure schlurping up her soup, then wiping her
tomato-stained gob with a lace-cuffed sleeve – a sort of Eliza Doolittle character.
I asked if the
Victorian’s soup was likely to have been homemade. Himself is inclined to believe
that it was tinned.
 |
| Tastes like this! |
Today’s recipe
is homemade… from a tin - or rather a carton. That might seem a contradiction in
terms however, unless you have a fantastic supply of sun-ripened San Marzano tomatoes, you’re much more
likely to get the best flavour for soups and sauces from pasata (sieved tomato
pulp) or tinned tomatoes. Look for brands with a conscience and go for
products with nothing added. There should only be one ingredient on the
label. Tomatoes!
For 6 – 8
portions of bloomin’ luverly tomato soup you will need…
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 carrots, finely sliced
1 onion, finely chopped
2 potatoes, peeled and finely diced (approximately 250g
prepared weight)
1 fat clove of garlic, chopped
750ml pasata (or
2 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes)
750mls chicken stock or vegetable stock
1 teaspoon of fresh thyme (or ½ teaspoon of dried thyme)
½ teaspoon sugar
salt and pepper to taste
Method
Heat the olive
oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the carrot and onion. Give them
a quick stir to coat them with the hot oil then turn down the heat, cover and
allow to cook gently without colouring for about 8 minutes. Next, add the diced
potato and chopped garlic, stir and once again, cover and this time allow them
to cook for about 4 minutes.
Next add the
pasata, stock, thyme and sugar. Turn up the heat until the liquid comes to
simmering. Lower the heat, cover and allow to simmer gently for about 15
minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
Blend the contents of the saucepan to a
smooth cream – a stick blender is perfect. Taste and add salt and pepper to
suit your palate.
Serve with
crusty bread.
I scattered the
top of the soup with a little proscuitto and some finely chopped fresh
celery leaves.
Other toppings I like for this soup are shredded fresh basil; Parmesan
croutons with fried bacon bits; or a simple swirl of crème fraiche, though I'm not beyond following the Victorian's example!
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