Autumn is well and truly upon us now with cooling temperatures and rain. I actually had to put the heat on today for a while to warm things up. But then again, it is October now, so you expect this. This is soup weather! I love soup, and I am so pleased to be at the time of year when I am able to enjoy it again.
One of my favorite simple soups has to be tomato. I adore tomato soup. I only ever had it from a tin when I was a child. The thought never occurred to me that you could make it from scratch. DUH! The first time I experienced tomato soup from scratch was when I was married first time around. A good farm wife my late MIL made excellent tomato soup. (She was a fabulous cook and made excellent everything!)
I was a Campbell's kid when it came to Tomato Soup, because that is what my mother bought. As an adult I tried Heinz and in all honesty liked that variety better. But in reality when it comes to tomato soup, whilst the tinned versions are fine, homemade knocks them right out of the park!
And when it comes to homemade tomato soup, simply roasting your tomatoes first turns what is an excellent bowl of soup into an exemplary bowl of soup! Not to be matched!
It truly is "mmm mmm good!"
Roasting the tomatoes first really enhances and brings out the natural sweetness of the tomatoes. I use my stove's grill/broiler function to do this. Just heat it up and pop them underneath it. Turn them regularly with a pair of tongs as the skin blackens.
The blackened skin should remove very easily once they are roasted all over, but don't worry it you can't get it all off, any skin will be taken care of later on.
There are also plenty of chopped onions, celery and grated carrot in the soup. All of these aromatics add to the flavor of the soup.
If you have homemade stock, that's great, but failing that, use a really good quality stock pot or cube that will give you are really rich flavor. Knorr gel stock pots are the ones I like to use, but you can use whatever it is you prefer.
I always add a bit of rice to this soup. Its not a lot, but it somehow makes it more substantial Funny how that works! Enjoy!
Yield: 6 - 8Author: Marie Rayner
Roasted Tomato & Rice Soup
prep time: 15 minscook time: 45 minstotal time: 60 minsRoasting tomatoes really helps to enhance their flavours. A bit faffy, but well worth the effort.ingredients:
3 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes1 1/2 TBS butter3/4 pound onions, peeled and coarsely chopped1 rib celery, coarsely chopped1 medium carrot, peeled and coarsely shredded1 1/4 litres of chicken stock (5 cups)1 1/2 TBS chopped fresh parsley3 TBS chopped fresh chervil (alternately you can use 1 TBS dried)3 TBS long grain white ricesalt and black pepper to tasteinstructions:
Preheat your oven grill/broiler to high. Place the tomatoes in afoil lined pan and pop them under the grill/broiler and roast, turning
them occasionally with tongs as the skins begin to blacken. This will
take 10 minutes or so.
While the tomatoes are
roasting, put the butter, onions, celery and carrot along with 240ml/1
cup chicken stock into a saucepan. Simmer, covered, over low heat for
about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Don't let
brown.
Remove as much blackened skin from the
tomatoes as you can and add them to the pot along with the remaining
stock. Cover and cook over low heat for an additional 15 minutes. Puree
with a stick blender, or normal blender (with care). Push through a
sieve to strain out any seeds, remaining skin and other solids. Return
to a clean pot. Add the parsley, chervil and rice, along with salt and
pepper to taste. Simmer, uncovered for about 10 minutes, or until rice
is done. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired. Ladle into heated
bowls and serve immediately.Created using The Recipes Generator
You could of course serve the soup as is for a simple luncheon with crackers or a roll on the side, but I turned it into a main meal and really waxed nostalgic by serving it with grilled cheese sandwiches. Tomato Soup and grilled cheese go together like, well . . . peas and carrots!! Bon appetit!
