Cherry Tomato Soup w. Basil
Cook Time: ~30 Minutes
Tomato soup might just be the most commonly purchased soup from a can. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy canned soup, but this rustic take on a classic uses a combination of sweet cherry & baby plum tomatoes, potatoes to add rich creaminess, and is good practice for flexing that cooking muscle and adding to your repertoire of soups. This soup takes all of 2 minutes to prepare, and will keep well in the fridge for the week ahead.
Serves: 4-6
Time: ~30 Minutes
Information - What you require
Ingredients
• Cherry tomatoes (1kg)
• Baby plum tomatoes (225g)
• Two bulbs of garlic
• Two potatoes
• One medium white onion
• Chicken or Vegetable stock (~800ml)
• Green pesto
• Fresh basil
• Chilli flakes
• Dried oregano (1 tbsp)
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Ground black pepper & salt
Optional Ingredients & Notes
• Stock: You may use vegetable stock as a replacement for chicken stock if you want to make this dish vegetarian or simply prefer the taste. Moreover, if you prefer a less viscous soup, you may use 1L to 1.2L of stock instead of 800ml. I find that the tomatoes give off a considerable amount of liquid, so would recommend adding 800ml first, because you can also add more later.
• Potatoes: You can most certainly choose the wrong type of potato for this dish. I would recommend sourcing ones that are higher in starch, like a Russet, Yukon Gold, or Red skinned potato. Alternatively, ask your vegetable merchant or simply observe the packaging for potatoes that are said to be best for mash. These varieties will be naturally buttery and add the necessary cream to the soup.
• Baby Plum Tomatoes: Totally optional. I add them to vary the tomato flavour, but you can use exclusively cherry tomatoes for this soup.
• Pesto: Also optional as a garnish.
• Seasoning: I use oregano here, but you may use any combination of dried herbs as per your own tastes.
Equipment
• One large pot
• Hand blender
• Deep baking tray or oven dish
Mise En Place - Food preparation
There is not much preparation in this recipe. Slice your garlic bulbs into halves. Measure out your dried oregano or other dried herbs. Peel and cut your potatoes into chunks. Remove the skin from your onion, cut it in half, and peel the layers off with your fingers. We want reasonable chunks of onion here, so no chopping.
Cooking Process
First, bung your onions, tomatoes, potatoes, and garlic into a deep baking tray lined with greaseproof paper and apply a generous helping of ground black pepper & salt and extra virgin olive oil. Fire the dish into the oven at 180°C (~360℉) and cook for 30-35 minutes. The tomatoes should be partially burst, and the garlic should be soft by the time it’s ready.
About five minutes before you remove your baking tray, pour your stock into a large cooking pot and bring it to a simmer, then turn the heat down to low. Once your tomatoes have cooked, remove the tray from the oven, and drop everything apart from the garlic into the stock. Ensuring you don’t add any skin to the soup, squeeze out the garlic cloves into the pot; they should be soft & sweet.
Add your tablespoon of oregano or other dried herbs, and blend everything together with a hand blender until smooth. Once blended, taste the soup and determine if it requires additional black pepper or salt, and season to taste. To serve, sprinkle over freshly ground black pepper, chilli flakes, a light drizzle of green pesto, and a couple of fresh basil leaves. Alternatively, you may replace the green pesto with a light drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
If you do attempt this dish, please let me know how it goes, and if you variate the recipe in any way. Also, this newsletter relies upon word of mouth, so if you feel you know someone who would enjoy this publication please share it.
Thanks for reading,
Conor