After being away from the garden for one month, I wasn’t sure what I would find on my return. Everything green was munched down by caterpillars, 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 own version of this soup, it’s so simple and creamy, served with a big spoon of cooked barley. The added coconut cream takes the edge off the acidity and softens the soup.
tomato soup by Yasmin
preparation – 35 mins
serves 2
ingredients
2 Tbsp coconut oil
½ large fennel/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/olive oil
preparation
1. In a heavy-based pot over medium-high heat, add the coconut oil, fennel, bell pepper, thyme and bay leaf – fry for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Add in the whole cherry tomatoes, tomato paste, stir to combine, then cover and reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes.
3. Add in the water, salt, jaggery and coconut cream, stir to combine.
4. 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, a few rounds of pepper, and drizzle with coconut cream.
