Winter’s Summer Tomato Soup
Mary Taylor
Mansing Li is not only an avid yoga practitioner he’s also a prolific gardener. During the summer huge boxes of fresh produce, flowers and honey from his garden sometimes appear on our doorstep along with out-of-this-world homemade tempeh and tofu. Between his generosity and green thumb I’ve learned a lot about food and cooking! Recently Mansing brought us a huge bag of tomatoes, fresh frozen at the end of last summer. This simple soup brought the rich flavor of summer into our house—when temperatures outside were dipping below zero. (Of course, you can make the same soup in the summer when tomatoes are at the peak.)
yield: 4-6 servings | prep time: 1 hour
ingredients
About 3 pounds frozen tomatoes
1 sweet onion, diced
8 cloves garlic, sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and black pepper to taste
2-3 teaspoons honey
Red pepper flakes (optional)
2/3 cup fresh basil or cilantro leaves, chopped
Nothing fancy. Rinse fresh sweet summer tomatoes well and allow them to dry at room temperature. Then pack them into a freezer bag or container and wait until you’ve forgotten how amazing fresh homegrown tomatoes can taste. Then use in this simple soup recipe and prepare to be amazed!
If you don’t have a food mill, and kitchen storage space allows, it’s worth getting one.
directions
Empty the frozen tomatoes from their freezer container into a large bowl and thaw to room temperature. The tomatoes will soften and liquid from them will accumulate in the bowl.
Using a food mill, puree the whole tomatoes into a second bowl, pouring the thawed liquid over them as you puree. Discard stem ends and skin from the tomatoes that remain in the mill.
Heat the olive oil in a 3-4-quart heavy bottomed saucepan, placed over medium high heat. When the oil is hot, but not smoking, add the onions. Toss well to coat with oil, then reduce heat to medium low and continue to cook for about 8 minutes or until the translucent.
Add the pureed tomatoes, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Stir in 2-3 teaspoons honey.
Bring the pureed mixture to to a boil, stirring frequently.
Reduce heat and simmer and continue to cook until the soup has reduced to the desired thickness—thick is good here!
Stir in the red pepper flakes and chopped fresh herbs. Taste and adjust the seasonings before serving piping hot.