Crème de tomates
A delicious soup with simple pleasures from the garden.
This week's recipe is a reminder that French cooking is as much about simple pleasures as it is culinary art. Crème de tomates is from my favourite chef from the south of France, Roger Vergé. It's a simple creamy tomato soup full of sunny flavors. Healthy, fresh and silky it shows us what simple pleasures are all about.
INGREDIENTS
400 g (14 oz) ripe fresh tomatoes (or good quality ones out of a can)
1 garlic clove
2 or 3 twigs of thyme
1 medium size white onion
30 g (1 oz) of butter (for the onions)
250 ml (8.5 fl oz) clear chicken stock
80 ml (2.7 fl oz) good quality cream (heavy cream)
1 egg yolk
Half a tsp of sugar
Salt and pepper to season
2 tbsp diced tinned tomatoes for the garnish
1 tbsp water
PROCEDURE
Thinly slice the onion. Remove the hard-top core of the tomatoes and cut them into small chunks.
Melt the butter in a saucepan on medium heat together with the water. Add the onions and cook on low heat for up to 15 minutes until the onions are completely cooked but not brown.
Add the thyme, peeled garlic clove, tomatoes and sugar, raise the heat to medium and cook uncovered for 10 minutes. Turn the tomatoes from time to time.
Pour in all the stock, mix everything in and boil for 2-3 minutes. Then remove the thyme.
Either use a stick blender to blend everything in or pass the mix through a vegetable mill. If using a blender make sure to pass the liquid through a sieve to remove the tomato skins and seeds etc.
Return the liquid back to the cleaned saucepan and bring to a simmer.
Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolk and the cold cream together in a large bowl until integrated and then pour in the hot soup base whilst whisking well. Whisk together for 1 minute.
Return the mix again to the cleaned saucepan and bring to a light simmer on medium heat whilst stirring or whisking. Whisk for 3 minutes so the soup slightly thickens, but take care to ensure it does not boil.
If you wish to add colour to the soup stir in a tablespoon of diced fresh tomato. Season to taste.
If desired, pass through a sieve again into a dish, and then serve.
Garnish with a dollop of cream, herbs and croutons.
"I'll definitely save this recipe for the summer when we can make this with our delicious tomatoes fresh from the garden. Yum!"Csongor Kakuk
"Just got done making it. DELICIOUS!!! Love the simplicity of the technique and the depth of flavours. I used a stick blender and filtered the soup after that. It was thick and then became thicker. Wife and son loved it. Thanks."Shantarnu Sharma