Ciao friends!
Wee tomato plants at the start of the summer.
Do you remember my newly planted garden I shared with you this summer? I’m happy to report that I’ve harvested quite a few vegetables and strawberries since then! There’s been some radishes, a cucumber and lettuce. However, I am a little disappointed in the progress of my tomato plants. You’ll see from my photo that they grew into a tomato plant jungle. Unfortunately, it just has not been warm or sunny enough for there to be many tomatoes to come to fruit on there. I have had a few cherry tomatoes here and there but no heirlooms. Oh well…It’s a learning experience! Next year I’ll plant a different variety (if I plant tomatoes at all).
And look at them now! (before they started leaning over)
Given how disappointed I was with my lack of tomatoes, imagine how excited I was when I found out that Serendipity Farms in Carmel Valley was having a U-Pick event on Saturday. I would still get the chance to pick fresh tomatoes off of the vine! So on Saturday, after eating my lunch, Joules and I got into the car and made our way over to Carmel Valley. Within 15-20 minutes, I had a basket full of bright red tomatoes. Exciiiting! I changed up my usual tomato soup recipe and took a little tip from Tyler Florence to make the following soup. How do you like to eat your tomatoes?
Here’s what you need:
about 2.5 pounds of fresh tomatoes (any and all varieties! Heirloom, ace, plum…)
6 cloves of garlic
1 large or 2 small yellow onions (OR you can use 2 leeks)
1/2 cup olive oil
1 quart of chicken stock
2 bay leaves
4 tablespoons (grass-fed) butter
1 large handful of fresh basil
Here’s how:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Wash and chop the tomatoes and onions into large chunks. Peel garlic cloves but leave whole (don’t chop them up).
3. Spread the tomatoes, onions and garlic on a large cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle salt and pepper on top.
4.Let it roast for about 20 to 30 minutes or until the onions have carmelized a little bit.
5. After removing the tomatoes from the oven, place in a large pot along with the chicken stock, butter and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and then bring it down to a simmer for about 15-20 minutes or until the soup reduces about 1/3.
6. At this point, you can add your washed basil leaves to the pot. Now take an immersion blender and blend until it becomes smooth. Put the soup back on low heat for a teensy bit. Add some chicken stock if you feel like you want to make the soup a little less thick.
For a little twist, add some chopped carrots in at step 5.
Enjoy!
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Tags: soup, tomato, vegetables
