Actual Tomatoes. What the fuck was I thinking?

Thanks to Jen for the extra little push I needed to attempt this crazy ass feat of making my own tomato soup from scratch.

But ummm.... WHAT was I thinking?? It took me forever. As in, this was my activity of the night.



I got this recipe from Fete Accompli! The Ultimate Guided to Creative Entertaining and aside from the Barton G recipe, it's chock full of of good stuff. Anything I modified is in pink.




Serves 15


Seasoning Mix

2 TB chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 t ground nutmeg
1 TB sugar (I used 2 heaping TBs)
2 c roasted & chopped garlic (I roasted about 5 heads of garlic for 45-50 minutes on 400 degree heat, covered with foil)



For the Soup

1 c heavy cream (I used 1 1/2 cups)
2 1/2 TB unsalted butter
1 1/2 c chopped onions
1/2 c chopped celery (I used 3/4 cup)
11 c peeled & chopped very ripe tomatoes (about 16) (I ended up with 8 cups of tomatoes and their juice, I peeled and seeded mine)
1 1/2 chicken stock (I used 16 oz instead)
1/2 c chopped fresh basil



Instructions

• combine the ingrediants for the seasoning mix in a small bowl and set aside


• bring the cream just to the boiling point in a small saucepan. remove from heat and set aside (I put the cream on at the end instead of the beginning.)


• melt the butter in a heavy three quart non-reactive pot. (don't use cast iron) over hight heat and add the onions and celery. cook, stirring occasionally, for 12 minutes or until soft. stir in the tomatoes and the seasoning mix, cover, and bring to a rolling boil. when the mixture boils, uncover the pot, stir well, and cook for approximately 3 more minutes. stir in the chicken stock, cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes. (I simmered for more like 30-40 minutes)


• raise the heat to high and cook, uncovered, for 10 more minutes. stir in the basil, then remove from the heat.


• put the soup into a food processor (in two batches) and process until coursely pureed, but not quite smooth. (I used the blender and did it all in about 5 batches maybe 1/2 full)


• pour the soup into a large bowl and stir in the cream. serve warm.

Dave said it's the best he's ever tasted, but I don't know whether to believe him or not. Personally, I think the Martha Stewart / Kirkland stuff at Costco is pretty damn good.