Sweet Tomato Soup

My grandfather always grew many tomatoes and had them trained to climb up twine ropes next to his garden shed. He was a bit of a grump so instead of asking nicely if I could pick one or two I would do so sneakily. In hiding, I would make a hole in the firm skin and shamelessly suck out the sweet juices before chomping on the skin and intestines. I have always loved this fruit!

My grandfather warned me that tomato leaves and stalks were to be treated with care as they were poisonous. I have since learned that they are part of the nightshade family and contain atropine and tropane alkaloids. They are also a very healthy food choice - just don't eat the leaves or stems!

Like pumpkins, our garden is full of free range unplanted tomatoes as well as those carefully selected from the Garden Place. The free range ones are mostly of the Cherry variety and are great for salads and snacking generally. There are also quite a few of the pear -ish shape ones that I have seen referred to as Kumato.

Tom-ar-toe or tom-ay-toe, I love them any way. Fresh from the vine and eaten on the spot, grilled with bacon and eggs, in salads, added to a sandwhich but especially  . . . in winter - tomato soup!

Tomato Soup in a pan

 I get a generous quantity of these beautiful fruits, wash them and cut them into wedges. Then I peel and thinly slice two large onions and two large potaotes, peel a couple of cloves of garlic, chop some bacon pieces and make some vegetable or beef stock from cubes by dissolving them in boiling water. Sometimes I also chop a couple of stalks of celery as well.

The next thing to do is to get a large heavy bottom pan and heat it a bit before dropping in a bit of vegetable oil - about two tablespoons, i guess. Then in go the onion and bacon and crushed garlic and I cook all this for about four minutes.

Next I add the tomato wedges, thinly sliced potatoes and celery with the stock - about five cups full. I add a couple of cups of boiling water if there is not enough liquid and sometimes, if I crave a stronger taste, also a spoonful of tomato paste.

The final addition is some mixed herbs, oregano and ground pepper. 

I then leave the soup to cook gently on a lowish heat for about an hour and a half before checking the taste and adding some salt. 

Tomato Soup

 If this is to be a lunchtime meal, I then mash it up a bit in the pot, leaving it quite chunky. If it is to be the soup course of a dinner I blend it until smooth. Either way, I serve it with a dollop of thick cream and a small dinner roll.

My favourite winter lunch!