Fresh Tomato Soup

Tomatoes are an incredibly versatile food ingredient that can be eaten raw, cooked or made into soups and sauces. They can be stuffed with meat, rice or breadcrumbs, and used as the main ingredient in tarts. Combined with onions and a few spices, they also make a refreshing sambal for curries and other Eastern dishes. 

So why is it that when people talk about tomato soup, they more often than not are referring to the sort of cream of tomato soup commonly sold in cans?

If you’re growing tomatoes successfully in your veggie garden, here are some different ideas for making fresh soup, including a really hearty version of the old favourite Cream of Tomato Soup.

Ripe Tomato Soup

This is a quick and easy recipe that shouldn’t take longer than about half an hour to prepare and cook.

Cook one kilo of nice ripe tomatoes (roughly chopped) together with a sliced onion in about 30 g of butter until soft. Rub through a sieve into a clean saucepan and add a litre of boiling water. Season with salt, freshly ground black pepper and a little thyme (preferably fresh); add three tablespoons of long grain rice, bring to the boil and then simmer for 20 minutes.

Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.

Italian Tomato Soup

This is a quick and easy recipe that retains the lovely flavour of fresh tomatoes. It’s delicious hot, but can also be served cold with fresh Italian bread.

Skin and chop 750 g tomatoes and fry lightly in about six tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Add a crushed clove of garlic and a tablespoon of chopped fresh herbs (ideally a combination of fresh parsley, basil and marjoram or oregano). Cook for about five minutes and then add 500 ml meat stock or chicken broth as well as salt, pepper and sugar to taste.  Cook for another five minutes and serve immediately.

Algerian Tomato Soup

Allow at least a couple of hours for this meaty soup from Africa.

Skin, seed and chop four large tomatoes (or more smaller ones); and cut four large onions into chunks. Season with salt and pepper and then fry the tomato and onion lightly in about 30 g butter, together with one large sprig of mint coarsely chopped and two or three chillies, seeded and chopped. When the veggies are golden brown add one litre of water, 350 g neck of lamb or mutton, and 125 g dried apricots. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for about an hour and a half.

Remove from the heat and allow it to cool, before removing the meat from the pot. Remove the bones and chop the meat into little pieces.

Add 60 g vermicelli to the soup with the meat and simmer for another 10 minutes, or until the pasta is cooked.

Bread and Tomato Soup

This is another Italian recipe, and the soup may be eaten hot, lukewarm or cold.

Sauté three chopped garlic cloves with a sprinkling of dried chilli flakes in 125 ml olive oil for about ten minutes. Add 500 g very ripe tomatoes (skinned and chopped) and continue cooking for about 15 minutes.

Pour in 750 ml hot chicken stock and add 500 g stale bread cut into small pieces, together with four or five fresh basil leaves, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir well and simmer for at least 15 minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat, cover and leave to rest at room temperature for about two hours.

Reheat if desired before serving. Garnish with a sprinkling of coarsely ground black pepper and finely grated Parmesan or Pecorina cheese.

Hearty Cream of Tomato Soup

Cook one chopped carrot with one chopped onion in about 30 g of butter until lightly browned. Add three tablespoons of flour and mix well before adding a litre of chicken stock (preferably homemade) together with one crushed clove of garlic and two leeks thinly sliced (baby leeks are even better and will add a nice sweet flavour, but use more than two), as well as four white peppercorns, a teaspoon of salt, a tablespoon of sugar and 750 g roughly chopped tomato.

Bring to a simmer, cover and cook on low hear for at least an hour. Remove any scum that forms during cooking before rubbing through a fine strainer into a clean saucepan.

Add 250 ml ordinary thin cream, stir, taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. If the soup is too thick, add a little more stock or a bit of milk.

Serve garnished with parsley or croûtons.

Enjoy!

For the most delicious tomato soup, read How To Grow Juicy Tasty Tomatoes and grow your own delightful tomatoes.