tomato soup with a secret weapon
simple tomato soup
Serves 4 or more
Ingredients:
4 lbs or so red, ripe tomatoes
1 small yellow onion, peeled and diced OR 1 small leek white and 1 small shallot, both peeled and diced
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
a few sprigs fresh thyme and/or a bay leaf
1/4 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Basil leaves to garnish
Instructions:
Prepare the tomatoes. First, have a strainer handy, set over a bowl. Cut tomatoes into quarters (more if they are large) and remove the parts where the stems were attached. Running your fingers inside the segments, scoop out the seedy bits into the strainer you have set up over the bowl. Once that's done, chop the tomatoes a few times more. Keep the straining seeds off to the side.
In a heavy-bottomed saucepan or le Creuset, heat the olive oil over medium and add the chopped onion (or leek and shallot) and thyme/bay leaf. Sprinkle a little salt on top and sauté over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or so. Make sure not to brown the onions. Add the tomatoes, raise the heat a little, and cover. Cook this way, running at a good simmer but not boiling too hard, around 20-30 minutes or until the tomatoes are soft and falling apart.
Get the tomato water ready by stirring the seeds around in the strainer to encourage the liquid to pass through. Discard the seeds; keep the tomato water.
Remove the thyme stems/bay leaf from the tomatoes (may require a little fishing). Discard.
Blend the cooked tomatoes in a blender until completely pureed. Add the tomato water and blend some more—should be velvety smooth. At the very end, mix in the cream and salt to taste. I don't like to dictate salt amounts, but I will say add enough good pinches, tasting in between, to bring the flavor up. Serve hot with basil scattered on top.