See Also: Appetizers · Cooking Club · Soups · Vegetable Dishes
Chilled Heirloom Tomato Soup
From Dorothy McNett's recipes at www.dorothymcnett.com. Makes about 4 main dish servings, or 8 - 10 small appetizer servings. Eat it hot if desired!
6-8 medium fresh ripe tomatoes (use heirlooms, or whatever you have)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or unsalted butter
1 small onion, finely diced (about 1 cup)
4-5 cloves garlic, finely diced
2 - 3 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon sea salt (more or less, depends on the broth)
1 tablespoon raw sugar or honey
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
pinch of chili powder, if desired
1/4 cup finely diced fresh basil
1 cup yogurt, sour cream or creme fraiche
1 cup or so of chilled watermelon cubes
Remove the top stem end of each tomato and quarter them. Place in a glass or ceramic batter bowl. Cook 4-5 minutes in microwave. Press through a food strainer or ricer to remove the skins and seeds, if desired. Otherwise, simply whirl them in food processor to make a rough puree. Heat a heavy bottomed stainless steel saute or deep saucepan. Add the butter or oil and then the diced onion and garlic. Cook and stir until the onions are soft but not browned. Add the tomatoes, broth, salt, sugar, pepper, and chili powder. (If serving the soup hot, bring to a boil, reduce to simmer for about 10 minutes. Then add the basil and sour cream.) If serving the soup cold, simply add the tomatoes, broth, salt, sugar, pepper, chili powder, basil and yogurt to the onions. Refrigerate to chill as desired. Garnish with a dollop of additional yogurt and basil leaves along with several cubes of chilled watermelon.
Recipe created 2013-08-27.
