Tomato Soup

Ingredients

• 140g shallot (4) or onion (1)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 750g tomato (8)
• 400ml chicken or vegetable stock
• 600ml tomato juice
• 1 sprig of thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 sprigs of basil
• 2 teaspoon of sugar
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil

Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 50 minutes
Serves: 2

Method

1. Peel and chop the shallot (or onion), cut the tomatoes into wedges and peel and chop the garlic.
2. Heat the oil over a low heat in a large saucepan, then add the shallot (or onion), garlic, thyme and bay leaf.
3. Cook for about 10 minutes, until the onion has become soft, translucent and very slightly browned.
4. Add the tomato and cook until it has turned pulpy.
5. Season it with salt & pepper, then add the sugar, the basil, the stock and the tomato juice.
6. Simmer the mixture for 15 minutes.
7. Remove the thyme sprig and the bay leaf, then ladle some of the contents of the pan into a liquidizer, until the liquidizer is ¼ full and blend it for about a minute.
8. Pour the contents of the liquidizer through a sieve into another clean pan and then refill the liquidizer to ¼. (Filling a liquidizer with too much hot liquid can cause the liquid to explode out of the top in a spectacular fashion, regardless of the strength of your liquidizers lid. It is best to err on the side of caution and do several small batches, rather than cover yourself and your kitchen with boiling hot soup.)
9. When all of the soup has been blended, reheat it, check the seasoning and then ladle it into bowls. We garnished it with a few drops of balsamic vinegar and a small sprig of basil.
10. Serve.

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Useful Information

Can it be frozen? Yes.
Can it be prepared in advance? Yes, it can be finished up to 3 days in advance.
Will leftovers be nice? Yes, for up to 3 days.

Notes