Tomato and basil are two foods that immediately come to mind when I think of summer. We’ve had a cool change here and I thought it was perfect timing to try out this tomato and basil soup. I’ve used tinned whole, peeled tomatoes in this recipe because although my tomatoes in the garden are looking very healthy and have little yellow flowers, there has been fruit as yet. I think it may have something to do with the bees. I’ve recently planted some flowering plants around the garden to attract the bees but I’m not sure if it’s too late. My basil, however, is growing beautifully!
You may wonder why I didn’t just use fresh tomatoes from the supermarket? It’s because they are watery and tasteless. I once picked up a tip from Jamie Oliver who said that higher quality, tastier tomatoes are used in tinned whole tomatoes. So choose these over crushed or chopped tomatoes or tasteless generic tomatoes from the supermarket. If you have your own homegrown tomatoes or can get your hands on some then use them instead.
Summer Tomato and Basil Soup
Ingredients
2 tins whole peeled tomatoes
2 celery sticks, diced
1/2 brown onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 vegetable stock cube
1 generous handful fresh basil, roughly torn
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper
Directions
- Saute onion and celery in a medium pot with 2 tbsp olive oil over medium heat until the onions are translucent and celery has started to soften.
- Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Add tinned tomatoes, 1 1/2 cups water and stock cube. Break up tomatoes with a spoon
- Cook with lid on until bubbling then remove lid and cook until it has reduced by a quarter.
- Taste and season with salt and pepper.
- Remove from heat, add remaining basil and blend in a blender or use stick blender until smooth.
- Serve garnished with fresh basil leaves and freshly ground pepper.
