Inspired by Nigel Slater from his book;
‘Tender’
I love the title of this soup!
I have been meaning to make this soup at the end of every Summer when I have the usual over-abundance of sun-soaked, yellow tomatoes and marigolds popping out everywhere in my garden, giving joy and colour wherever you look. I added orange peppers, as I have an over-abundance of these as well. Small, sunset-coloured peppers. Lots of them, all twisted in their home-grown shapes. I can see their cheerful and bright splashes of colour in amongst the greenery now, as I write this from the kitchen table.
This is a simple soup, pulsating with flavour and brightness. I decided to give it a long-simmering at the beginning, like Donna’s Cherry Tomato Sauce to really bring out the flavours before adding the stock or water. I use a Le Creuset pot which keeps the temperature balanced and even when cooking, so when this soup simmers, a lot of liquid comes out of the tomatoes. This is why there is very little water added. If you find the soup dry when cooking, add additional water. If you do not have yellow tomatoes, then use your regular cherry tomatoes. Just make sure the tomatoes are ripe and ready if you want a flavoursome soup.
– a little friend –
a soup the colour of marigolds
Enough for four
ingredients
a drizzle of olive oil
1 bay leaf
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh oregano
450g yellow tomatoes
6 medium/450g carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
1 medium orange bell pepper, deseeded, peeled and quartered
2 – 3 cups vegetable stock or water – more if needed
1 tsp jaggery/sugar
sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
parsley, finely chopped
basil leaves (optional)
preparation
1. Heat olive oil in a large heavy-based saucepan (should be hot enough so that herbs sizzle when added). Add whole herb sprigs and bay leaf, toss in the hot oil so that the flavour infuses and herbs turn bright green.
2. Add whole yellow tomatoes, toss until all are coated in oil, then add bell pepper and carrots – leave to sizzle on medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, then reduce heat to a simmer, cover and let stew away for 45 minutes.
3. Turn off heat, take out and discard the sprigs of thyme and oregano and remove bay leaf (return to the soup after blitzing.)
4. Add the 3 cups stock/water and blitz it into a thick, pulpy broth using a hand blender.
As Nigel Slater says, “…as bright and cheerful as a jug of June flowers.”
5. Add the sugar and season with salt and pepper.
6. Sprinkle with finely chopped parsley, a leaf of basil and drizzle with olive oil.
Serve with freshly baked bread and a bowl of guacamole or a big spoon of cooked quinoa in each bowl.
Goodness shared from Stacey
