Every time I eat at friends I come away with new ideas for my weekly recipes. This weekend a good French friend of mine made a beautiful lunch with lots of interesting dishes. She prepared for us a delicate creamy tomato soup. It had an interesting depth of flavour which was a complete change from traditional tomato soup. She explained to me that she added some onions and garlic which make the difference in the flavour. I created a really easy reproduction of this delicious soup. If I was in France I would have picked some of the deep red tasty tomatoes which grow in my village but as I am sitting at the end of winter in Cape Town I cheated and used a can of peeled Italian rosa tomatoes. The soup was not difficult to prepare, it took less than half an hour to make and looked and tasted wonderful. I recommend pairing this soup with an Alphonse Mellot Sancerre, a sauvignon blanc wine from the Loire as it blends well with the taste of the tomato.
Ingredients for 2-3 guests:
- 1 large tin peeled Italian tomatoes in juice ( or 6/8 peeled ripe tasty tomatoes)
- 2 cloves garlic peeled
- 4 to 6 shallotts or 1 onion peeled
- 25g of butter
- 100ml cream
- 100ml cultured butter milk
- Salt and pepper to taste
A bottle of Sauvignon Blanc Sancerre wine from the French Market shop in Cape Town
Directions:
- Chop garlic and onion finely
- Heat the butter in a heavy based saucepan
- Add the onions and garlic and cook gently for about 5 minutes
- Add the tomates and chop up into small pieces.
- Add salt and pepper to taste
- Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes stir from time to time
- Add the cream and butter milk and stir in well. Cook over gentle heat for about 10 minutes,
- Remove from heat and blend until smooth and no lumps remain.
- Taste and adjust seasoning
Serve hot accompanied by some croutons of fried bread rubbed with garlic and fried in olive oil
Pair with a glass of delicate Alphonse Mellot Sancerre, a delicate flavoured sauvignon blanc wine from the Loire region.
Bon Appétit!