I love tomato soup. So when I saw this cookbook called "Cook the Perfect..." by Marcus Wareing at my friend Jen's house, the lure of the bowl of tomato soup on the cover was all of the siren song I needed to order a copy (available used on Amazon). It's published by DB Books in the UK, and full of how-to's and tons of pictures for each recipe, just the way I like it. I would so much rather have a book of 10 nicely laid out, thorough recipes with pictures than 100 without.
The recipe took a little while, but was not difficult at all. Basically, you roast whole tomatoes in a 475 degree oven with olive oil and chopped onions and garlic. Then add to that a cup of sun-dried tomatoes in oil, and fresh basil and cilantro and roast another 10 minutes. Then 2 tbsp of tomato paste and roast another 5 minutes.
The mixture is then removed from the oven and placed into a bowl with 2 Tbsp each of Worcestershire sauce and balsamic vinegar, and it marinates for 30 min. After that, you puree it in batches and strain it into a pot, bring it to a simmer, and add 2 C. hot chicken stock. Serve with olive oil and fresh basil garnish.
The result was a thick, hearty bowl of soup with a lot of flavor. However, I had a couple of issues with the taste. Because you are roasting the garlic and onion at such a high temperature, they get burned. There is nothing I dislike quite as much as the flavor of burnt onion and garlic, and the soup has more than a hint of it. Secondly, while I liked the flavor of the Worcestershire and balsamic, it makes for a very acidic soup - since tomatoes are already very acidic, this was a bit much for me.
I think it's a good starting point, but I need to play with it a little before declaring on my own that this is the "perfect" tomato soup. Not that I didn't enjoy it with a flaky biscuit and a hunk of cheese for lunch, though.
And yes, Recipe #3 is now complete.
