The Blight of the Tomato

I salvaged some blighted tomatoes from my garden by cutting the bad areas out and made these 2 tasty soups.

Roasted Tomato Soup

From Tyler Florence
Serves 4-6

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 pounds fresh tomatoes (mix of fresh heirlooms, cherry, vine and plum tomatoes) I used only basic fresh tomatoes. And by fresh I mean blighted.
  • 6 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 2 small yellow onions, sliced
  • Vine cherry tomatoes for garnish, optional
  • 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 quart chicken stock
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves, optional
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream, optional

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Wash, core and cut the tomatoes into halves. Spread the tomatoes, garlic cloves and onions onto a baking tray. If using vine cherry tomatoes for garnish, add them as well, leaving them whole and on the vine. Drizzle with 1/2 cup of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 to 30 minutes, or until caramelized. (I saved the excess tomato flavored oil and am going to use it in pizza dough. Or something.)
Remove roasted tomatoes, garlic and onion from the oven and transfer to a large stock pot (set aside the roasted vine tomatoes for later). Add 3/4 (i.e. 3 cups) of the chicken stock, bay leaves, and butter. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until liquid has reduced by a third.
Wash and dry basil leaves, if using, and add to the pot. Use a blender to puree the soup until smooth. (Be careful. Don't fill the blender too full. Maybe only 1/2 full. Hold lid down firmly. You could let it cool a little to avoid burning yourself.) Return soup to low heat, add cream and adjust consistency with remaining chicken stock, if necessary. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Garnish in bowl with 3 or 4 roasted vine cherry tomatoes and a splash of heavy cream.

Easy Fresh Tomato Soup
Adapted from Heavenly Homemakers

5 pounds prepared tomatoes
1 cup chopped onion or 1 T. onion powder
3 T. butter
1 1/2 t. salt
Core tomatoes. Then continue to prepare however you wish. You can peel them or leave them unpeeled. Chop them or leave them whole.
Place all ingredients into large stockpot. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. If whole tomatoes were used, mash and break them up. Simmer uncovered for three hours, stirring occasionally. Let cool slightly. Blend until smooth. Be careful when blending hot soup. Only fill the blender half full and hold the lid on tight.
Preserve by canning or freezing. When serving, soup can be thinned with water or milk/cream/half&half if desired.





1 comment:

Taryn said...

This was heavenly.