Sunday, September 10, 2006

TOMATO BASIL SOUP--A TUTORIAL


Bear with me, as I have never done a tutorial before.
First off, let me set the scene.
Yesterday, immediately following the Farmers Market, a dear friend and I headed to the Wealthy St. Bakery to get bread. While there, we lusted, I mean noticed, their soup of the day, Tomato Basil, being ordered...bowl after bowl after bowl. We hastily jotted down the ingredients on the paper bag surrounding our artisian loaf of French baguette, and left the bakery. Visions of my own creation dancing in my head.
So here it is:
In the photo above is simmering cut up tomatoes, left over from the canning the day before. Approximately 14 cups. (by the time it was done cooking down I had 9 cups)

Push the cooked tomatoes thru a food mill. This step will eliminate all of the tomato seeds, and you will be left will a wonderful, pureed tomato sauce.

While tomatoes are simmering, cut up approximately 2 large or 4 small onions. I used yellow, as that is what I had on hand. Drizzle a couple tablespoons olive oil in fry pan, and add onions, cooking on medium till nearly translucent. At that point, I added 4 chopped cloves of fresh garlic. Do not brown, as that will make the garlic bitter. Just continue on med/low till garlic is tender.

I took one of my winter squash from my garden and cooked till tender. Scraped out most of the flesh from this small squash and set aside. Also from the garden, 3 Tbl of fresh basil, julienned. I then added 3 Tbl of truffle infused olive oil to the basil, and let set while tomatoes were simmering. (I would leave out the truffle oil and just use extra virgin olive oil, but since I had some of the truffle oil in the fridge I thought I would try it.) Also, if I hadn't had fresh basil, I would have used perhaps 2-3 Tbl homemade pesto.
I then used my immersion blender and blended ALL of the above (thrown together) in my large pan. Simmer till hot through.

Place in serving bowl and top with the slightest dribble of fresh heavy cream, and perhaps a tiny spoonful of sour cream or creme freche. Top with the teeniest basil leaves for the prettiest presentation. Add some fleur de sal and fresh ground pepper, to taste.I sat down to a bowl of this for lunch today, accompanied by a slice of aforementioned frrench baguette and a glass of the Cotes du Rhone Rose wine from my previous post.
WHAT CAN I SAY?
I have nothing to compare it to, as we did not partake in the soup from the bakery,
BUT...
I thought it was delicious!
Bon Appetit
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11 comments:

Parisienne Farmgirl said...

Cyn - Some encouragement...the instructor that I had my "moment" was at least 6.5. My eyes met with his lower chest as he was so tall. I could not believe it was "doable" to dance with such a height difference.

savvycityfarmer said...

Yummy in my tummy...a small cafe here in town adds tortellini for some extra added chewiness...al dente, of course.

I think you should major in tutorials...maybe a wine of the day pick, too...could you do all of us middle class a favor and keep it is the $8.00-10.00 range?????
merci.

savvycityfarmer said...

I know how long a post like this can take...is this the real reason you stayed home from church...'fess up girl.

Rosa said...

Wow. A perfect tutorial! I can almost smell the onions browning and the tomatoes cooking! Mmmmm mmmm good--eat your heart out Campbell's!!!

Anonymous said...

Sounds delicious....great tutorial!!!! Enjoy your day girl!!!
Blessings to you..
Mindy

Unknown said...

This looks like a GREAT recipe. I wish that my husband wasn't such a picky eatter...haven't been to the farmers market in 2 weeks, was in Chicago with my sister this weekend. We will be there FOR SURE next weekend, and we generally go around that same time. I'll look for you! Therea re so many people down there now though, it's PACKED....so hopefully we can at least wave.

savvycityfarmer said...

What's bloggerbeta...was reading someone else this a.m. that mentioned it????? Too curious.

kpjara said...

That sounds absolutley delightful! I love all things Basil!

kansasrose said...

mmmmm...my mouth is watering. Love your cooking guides...and the wine selections ROCK! You are a gourmand girl!

Adventures in Stepford said...

Wow. Your photos are great, and man that soup looks YUM. I'm so glad you visited my blog so I could find yours =) Mmm, Mmm!
~AIS

Homemaker's Heart said...

That looks delicious! Thanks for the step by step with pictures. You are very good at cooking from scratch.

{Hugs}