Tomato Soup

While we were in London, we had a delicious soup in a funky little wine bar café in Covent Garden, and although I could not obtain the actual recipe, experimented enough that I feel I have achieved the right mix. I recently ‘discovered’ using goat’s cheese in recipes and find it really adds to various dishes. The tomato is actually a fruit, but it’s always used as a vegetable, and is of the same family as the potato, egg plant and pepper. It is rich in vitamins, particularly Vitamin C. Because tomatoes came from the New World, they weren’t used much in British cooking until the sixteenth century, and it wasn’t until the nineteenth century that they were eaten raw.

My preference for making tomato soups is to use fresh tomatoes, but canned can also be used quite effectively. Strangely, you may find when using fresh tomatoes, the colour of the soup may be more orange than red, but the taste is certainly great. If you use fresh tomatoes, make sure they are ripe and soft. After washing them, plunge them into boiling water for a few seconds to help loosen the skins. If using canned or preserved tomatoes, be sure they are plain tomatoes and not with other ingredients such as garlic added.

Always add a pinch of sugar to tomato recipes that are cooked, as it helps to cut the acidity a bit. Also when cooking with bay leaves, use them whole so they can easily be removed, (they can be quite harmful to those with digestive problems, by getting trapped in the colon.) I adapted my regular tomato soup recipe, in which I use chopped tarragon instead of basil, which is always popular.

If you want to make tomato and tarragon or basil soup, it is also good chilled, but with the goat’s cheese, it should be served hot. I hope you enjoy my version.

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil.
• 1 Medium Onion, chopped.
• 2 lb tomatoes, peeled and chopped.
• 1 Bay leaf.
• 2 cups chicken stock.
• 4 oz goat cheese.
• Salt and pepper to taste.
• ½ cup heavy whipping cream.

Instructions

1. Sauté chopped onions in heated olive oil until golden; add tomatoes, bay leaf and chicken stock, and simmer about 20 minutes. 
2. Remove bay leaf, add cut up goat cheese, and stir in until melted. Allow to cool, then puree in a blender to a smooth consistency. 
3. Stir in cream, and reheat gently for serving.
4. Tarragon Version:  As above, except omit the bay leaf and goat cheese. Add 2 Tbsp chopped tarragon to simmer in the chicken broth, before processing (can use 2 tsp.
   dried tarragon).

Recipe from Sandra Cherry, Union Jack Food Columnist. Queries, comments and recipes are welcome, and I can be reached at Yourcuppatea1@yahoo.com.