After being away from the garden for one month, I wasn’t sure what to find on my return. Caterpillars munched down everything green; however, to my surprise, there were lots of cherry tomatoes hanging off dried skeleton branches and small but healthy bell peppers. I collected them all and made this comforting, nostalgic soup. Their flavour was enhanced by a month of neglect.
My daughter has been making her version of this soup. It’s so simple and creamy, served with a big spoon of cooked barley. The added coconut cream removes the acidity’s edge and softens the soup.
tomato soup by Yasmin
preparation 35 mins
serves 2
ingredients
2 Tbsp coconut oil
½ large fennel or 2 sticks celery(70g), roughly chopped
½ medium/80g bell pepper, roughly chopped
few sprigs thyme
1 fresh bay leaf
400g/2½ cups cherry tomatoes
1 Tbsp tomato paste
¾ cup water
1 tsp fine rock salt
1 tsp jaggery
¼ – ½ cup coconut cream
to serve
ghee or olive oil
preparation
- Add the coconut oil, fennel, bell pepper, thyme, and bay leaf to a heavy-based pot over medium-high heat. Fry for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the whole cherry tomatoes and tomato paste, stir to combine, then cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Add in the water, salt, jaggery and coconut cream, and stir to combine.
- Remove the sprigs of thyme and bay leaf, then puree until smooth. Taste and adjust the seasonings.
to serve
Ladle the soup into bowls with a spoon of cooked barley. Garnish each with a sprinkle of fresh thyme leaves and a few rounds of pepper, and drizzle with coconut cream.
Goodness shared from Stacey
