From Scratch

I was going to wait until tomatoes are at peak season to post this, but it occurred to me that by the time they’re abundant in The Little Snowball, they’ll be past peak in most other places. So here it is, my very favorite Jacques Pépin soup recipe, good cold as well as hot. It’s from Cooking With Claudine and it freezes beautifully. The herbes de Provence really add to this soup, so I consider them essential.

Tomato Potage

1 tablespoon virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups water
2 pounds ripe tomatoes, quartered
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 teaspoon herbes de Provence
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

NB: When tomatoes aren’t in season locally, plum tomatoes are good for this.

Heat oil in a large saucepan. When it’s hot, add the onion and saute over medium to high heat for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the flour, mix well, cook for 1 minute, then add the water. Mix well.

Add the remaining ingredients except the butter to the saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat and stir well. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for 15 minutes.

Strain the mixture, pushing it through a food mill fitted with a small screen. Alternatively, emulsify in a food processor then strain through a conventional strainer. (it doesn’t have to be strained if you don’t object to small pieces of skin and seeds.)

Add the butter, mix well to incorporate. Serve immediately or cool, cover, refrigerate and reheat when ready to serve.

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Tags: easy, tomatoes