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Savoury tomato soup April 24, 2008 Lately I have been running a soup kitchen on the side, stocking up my mother’s freezer with some of her favourite soups for the cooler weather or for days when she doesn’t feel like cooking. There really is something very restorative about a bowl of soup. I often make up a large pot of it on a Friday, ready for weekend lunches or Sunday night dinner. I use plenty of different vegetables along with some barley and lentils for thickness and texture. One of my favourites is minestrone, specially when fresh borlotti beans are available. Mum likes chicken soup, particularly when made from good homemade chicken stock with plenty of flavour. Sometimes I use a whole chicken or chicken thighs to make the stock – the cooked chicken can be used in another dish. Other times I buy three or four chicken frames at the poultry shop. Last week after I’d done the chicken soup and pumpkin soup, I made her a batch of tomato soup. Again, homemade beef stock will add depth to this brew. To make the stock, place 2-3kg soup bones in a baking dish, drizzle with a little oil and roast at 220C for 30 minutes then add a couple of scrubbed carrots, two peeled, quartered onions and two or three celery stalks and continue roasting for another 30 minutes. Drain off any fat then place the bones and vegetables in a large pot of water – a pasta pot is ideal – and simmer gently for three hours. Strain, cool then refrigerate overnight. Skim off any congealed fat and your stock is ready to use or to freeze. And a word of advice – if you buy stock powder or stock cubes, take a close look at the list of ingredients. Some brands don’t contain any beef or chicken whatsoever.
Savoury Tomato Soup 1kg tomatoes, cored and skins removed Score a cross in the bottom of each tomato and also remove the cores. Pour boiling water over the tomatoes. Let them sit for a couple of minutes then remove the skins and quarter. Finely chop the onion, celery and carrots. Place the olive oil in a large pot and heat then add the onions, celery, carrots and sugar and gently saute for 15 minutes. Add the tomatoes and continue cooking on a low heat for a further 10 minutes, making sure the vegetables don’t burn. Add the beef stock and bring to the boil then simmer for a further 20 minutes, adding salt as required. Serve with crusty bread. If you want to freeze soup, place a small plastic bag in a single-serve container, pour in the cooled soup and close with a twist tie. Freeze then remove from the container and stack in the freezer until required. Soup frozen in square or brick-shaped containers stacks easily. Servings can be quickly thawed in the microwave oven and reheated in a soup bowl or a Pyrex jug.
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