Time has been precious round these parts with moving home. My usual busting store cupboards have even been run down to Old Mother Hubbard levels. So you could say that there has been somewhat of a back to basics menu emerging from the kitchen as I'm conjuring up lots of impromptu, scant ingredient dishes to make even Ready, Steady, Cook's Ainsley Harriot raise an eyebrow.
After work yesterday, I managed to pilfer a bag of tomatoes from Papa Graphic Foodies garden, a couple of cloves of garlic and an onion (yeah, yeah I use onion AND garlic together - sue me!) and a few remaining leaves from my poor old plucked basil plant.
I "rustically" chopped the tomatoes and onion and popped them on a tray with the garlic, a generous sprinkling of sea salt and a good glug of olive oil and roasted them in a hot oven for about half an hour until the edges of the tomatoes were starting to singe. Then I simply whizzed this up with my trusty hand blender along with a nice handful of basil leaves. The tomatoes were a really flavour concentrated, ugly, pulpy type so they did need thinning slightly with some stock from my reserves but that was it and one of the tastiest meals I've had all week. Roasting really alters the flavour and gives it a creamy texture without the er, cream.
I think it really does help to have the best, pulpy, fragrant tomatoes you can get your mitts on and a top use up for those of you growing your own (when they all ripen at once and you end up with bucket loads!)
Part of me loves frugal time and ingredients cooking. I'd really love to hear all of yours...
Looks great - and I agree that slow roasting the tomatoes makes all the difference to tomato soup - really brings out the flavour
ReplyDeleteFabulous! What a rich red gorgeous looking tomato soup, I can almost small and taste it! Thankyou!
ReplyDeleteOooh that looks good. What a fabulous colour. My tommys are cropping like crazy at the moment so I will be making passata to put in the freezer and hot & sweet tomato chutney.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about the frugal cooking. I get quite a kick out of looking in the fridge and cupboard and making a meal out of what's there - very satisfying isn't it? My sister's courgette glut is featuring heavily in our meals at the moment and I've made chutney out of them too!
Roasted Tomato soup - never really considered it before, so simple but so gorgeous. I love things like this, really gives me ideas.
ReplyDeleteAs for getting a thrill using up ingredients - I'm exactly the same. Especially when you throw something nice together from what are essentially leftovers - feels almost like you've whacked the last piece in an elaborate jigsaw puzzle.
That's my last shred of credibilty gone - jigsaw puzzles?!!
Yummy, yummy! I love tomato soup! It's so tasteful!
ReplyDeleteThanks all, this is one of my favourites :)
ReplyDeleteGourmet chick - yeah, if you have time, very slow roasting really helps ping out the flavour doesn't it.
Jan - Check you out with your homemade passata. That freezer of yours is quite something!
Dan - Jigsaw puzzle cooking... yeah, I feel that!