Thursday 15 August 2019

Summer Tomato Soup

Hello Friends!

It's a very busy time of year, the tourists are in town and for those of us who work in the tourist industry it's Go! Go! Go! until the middle of September.  It's so easy to grab a ready meal, a quick snack, or rely on sandwiches as finding time to eat a healthy, balanced diet, and cook delicious food is something that is often a bit of a struggle during the busy summer months, and if I am honest, after a long day on my feet the last thing I want to be doing is standing in the kitchen prepping supper and tomorrow's lunch box.

I had to do a bit of a fridge clearing out a day or two ago, and as ever there were plenty of things nearing or even past their best, so here's what I came up with to avoid wasting a glut of cherry and other small tomatoes.  I have to say it's quite possibly one of the best soups I have ever made.

I found about 300 gr, or about 10 oz, of very ripe tomatoes in the salad drawer in the fridge.  Far too many to eat, and far too ripe to think about keeping any longer, so here's what I did:

I placed a layer of fresh basil in the bottom of a shallow Pyrex casserole, big enough to take the tomatoes in a single layer. I drizzled them very lightly with olive oil, and seasoned with freshly ground salt and black pepper, with a teaspoon of Balsamic vinegar and a teaspoon of sugar sprinkled over. I roasted them on Gas Mark 7 for about 25 minutes until they had started to caramelise. I removed the basil and cooled the tomatoes before putting in the fridge.  Today, I tipped them into my Ninja goblet, added the juice of a freshly squeezed, large orange and blitzed to a puree.  I warmed it through in a saucepan, seasoned with a little more freshly ground black pepper {to me there are few seasonings more special than freshly ground black pepper} a sprinkling of grated Parmesan, and a sprig of fresh basil to garnish.


Can I say it was utterly, completely, and totally lip smacking? Perfect for a light, summer lunch if you have a glut of tomatoes too, although it only made a small bowlful.  I am sure it could have been diluted to serve two, but then all that delicious oven roasted tomato goodness would also have been diluted, and tomatoes are so good for us.


I always like to play with my food, but this is one recipe I don't think I want to play with, and will definitely be making again, very soon. Fresh tomatoes and herbs only, and I don't think I will even consider adding onions or garlic, or any other tweaks to the seasonings.


Let me know if you try it, and if so, I do hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Until next time
Deborah



p.s. I have to say my Ninja food processor is one of the best gadgets I have ever bought, and I have owned mine now for two years and I think I have used it nearly every day since I got it home. It wasn't cheap, but oh, my! how it has proved it's value in the food preparation in my kitchen.

14 comments:

  1. Tomato soup is one of my favorites, Deb. Your flavor combination is perfect for my taste. Sadly, our tomato plants did nothing this year, but I always pick up some at the local produce stand. My son gave me a Ninja for Christmas and I find it to be a wonderful addition to my kitchen. It's wonderful for making whipped cream for desserts. I use it on strawberries and blueberries and if I have blackberries as well. Hopefully soup weather will visit us soon. xoxo ♥

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    1. This would be a perfect tomato soup for serving with a Grilled Cheese Sandwich too. The Ninja is so handy a tool, isn't it? Perfect for smaller servings when I am not bulk cooking and need the larger capacity of my Magimix. Have a wonderful evening, my friend.

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  2. This sounds absolutely delicious. Definitely one to try. X

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  3. The recipe sounds so tasty and one I will definitely be trying :) Lovely idea to roast the tomatoes and I like the suggestion of adding orange juice. Sometimes I am naughty when I make tomato soup and make a cheese scone round (Mary Berry recipe) to go with it!

    Food processors are so useful - I have a mini one for doing breadcrumbs, herbs in small quantities and I finally replaced my ancient magimix as most of the accessories had broken! I wouldn't be without it.

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    1. With no dairy {unless you add optional cheese} it should be fine in a flask too, for a picnic lunch. A cheese scone would be delicious instead of bread. I love my processors and mixers.

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  4. That sounds delicious, Deb! Yummity-yum-yum. Go you for not giving up on those tomatoes!

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    1. I'm now buying extra tomatoes to make it again!

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  5. Sounds yum! I will try to convert to U.S. System to give this a go. My husband loves tomatoes.

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    1. I don't think you have to worry about being too specific, a couple of generous handfuls of cherry tomatoes should do the trick. Oven is about 425* Fahrenheit.

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  6. Well, Deb, now you have gone and made me hungry. lol It looks delicious and sounds like a great soup to try.

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    1. Sorry! We are both so easy to make hungry, aren't we?

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