It is Sunday, the best day of the week! Why? Because mummy makes something different for dinner, as in Italian food, Chinese food, Chaat, English food like Baked beans on Toast, basically something fun! Something that we were always excited to eat! We would then go out as a family for an outing, to eat ice cream from our favorite ice cream places, and get new magazines from the road side store. That was our Sunday routine, something we looked forward to and we loved – as a family.
One of our favorite dinners was Tomato Soup with open faced grilled cheese toasts. My mom’s tomato soup was really THE BEST! We would all have atleast 2 big bowls of the soup if not more! Mummy put a lot of cilantro in her soup and a lot of black pepper. She actually put green chillies too, along with a bit of ginger for added heat and it tasted so damn good! We loved it with the open grilled cheese toast. She would use Amul cheese, which was the only cheese we got at that time, mixed it with a tad bit of milk, green chillies, cilantro, and salt and made a spread with it. She would spread it on white bread and broil it in her little toaster oven. Gosh that bread with that tomato soup was HEAVEN! Maybe I need to do another blog post for just that open faced grilled cheese! We devoured it. Dad loved it too.
So adding cilantro to my tomato soup was just natural to me. I add basil and dried thyme to my soup in addition to what my mom added that is garlic, carrots, sugar. I do not add the ginger and green chillies, because it is hard to gauge how spicy the chilly might be, and my kids will not have the soup then!
This tomato soup is super easy. I use the early girl tomatoes from the farmer’s market which are so perfect for this soup. They are super red, super juicy, and super tart and sweet! The perfect combination for a tomato soup. I use a combination of butter and olive oil. Mummy used butter and vegetable oil, since we did have not have access to olive oil when I was growing up. I saute the onions, garlic along with lots of salt and pepper till golden brown. Then I add in the tomato paste, brown sugar, and saute again. I add in the cut tomatoes, water, cilantro, thyme, basil and let it cook till it reduces. Add heavy cream and cook for a little bit more. The cooking part is done. I simply blitz the mixture in a high speed blender, no need to strain the soup. The soup is ready to serve in bowls. You can garnish with heavy cream, calabrian chilli oil, cilantro, basil, black pepper, any of these options. My favorite way to eat it is with olive oil grilled toasts, rubbed with a little bit of garlic. SOOOO GOOD!!!
If you do get to try this recipe, please do tag #thejamlab on Instagram and/or leave a comment on my blog post. Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family and I do! It has been a weekly affair in our home this entire summer and I will be very sad when the early girl tomatoes disappear from the market.
Hope you all are enjoying August thoroughly.
XO
Amisha
Ingredients
- 2 pounds 10 ounces of early girl tomatoes(or any variety that you like) – washed and cut into medium chunks
- 1 cup small diced carrots(washed and peeled)
- ¾ cup red onion finely diced
- 3 garlic cloves, grated
- 3 teaspoons of salt(more if desired)
- 3 teaspoons of black pepper(more if desired)
- 2 teaspoons of dried thyme
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- ½ cup of good olive oil
- 3 tbsp butter
- 4-5 cups of water or vegetable stock
- 1 tbsp of brown sugar
- 1 cup packed cilantro(washed)
- ½ cup packed basil(washed)
- ½ cup heavy cream(omit if you want to keep it vegan)
- Garnish options:
- Calibiran chilli oil
- Black pepper
- heavy cream
- Basil leaves
- Cilantro leaves
Instructions
- In a large pot on medium-high heat, add the olive oil and butter. After a minute when the oil is heated enough, add in the chopped onions, garlic, and saute’ until the onions are translucent about 5 minutes. Then add in the carrots, and saute for another 2-3 minutes. Then add in the salt, pepper, thyme, tomato paste and brown sugar and saute for another minute. Now add in all the tomatoes, water, cilantro, basil and mix. Cover the pot, keeping it slightly open, and let it cook for 20-25 minutes, until it has reduced to a good consistency. Add in the heavy cream and let it boil for another 2-3 minutes.
- Switch off the stove. Add half of the soup in a high speed blender, and blend till the mixture is smooth. Remove in another pot or huge bowl. Repeat the process with the remaining soup.
- The soup is ready to serve with extra pepper and a drizzle of heavy cream or good olive oil! Serve with toasted garlic bread, or cheesy garlic bread.
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