I feel a bit of a cold coming on, and it's dark outside, though not chilly even though it's "winter." Tonight, I was set to visit my friend Judith and her young son, Leo, but thought I'd better go another day because I might be contagious. (There's a lurgy going around the office.) She mentioned we were set to have a delicious-sounding soup for dinner, so, on my way home I decided I'd make one too, in lieu.
I always forget how simple and delicious soups can be, and you really can put anything in them. I have no onions in the house, but, oh well. I'm not claiming this soup is delicious since I haven't eaten it yet, but here's the recipe, such as it is.
George's Somewhat Morocco Inspired Tomato Soup
Apparently Bruce Lee once said, "I fear not the man who has practiced ten thousand kicks once, but the man who has practiced one kick ten thousand times."
Update, later
I always forget how simple and delicious soups can be, and you really can put anything in them. I have no onions in the house, but, oh well. I'm not claiming this soup is delicious since I haven't eaten it yet, but here's the recipe, such as it is.
George's Somewhat Morocco Inspired Tomato Soup
- Pour a glass of wine.
- Peel and finely chop 5 cloves of garlic.
- Pop the garlic into a cold pot where you have a glob of olive oil and about the same amount of butter.
- Turn on pot gently, and as you keep doing your prep, listen for the sizzle.
- Peel a small thumb of ginger and mash it on one of those purpose-built ginger mashing things. (Seriously, they're great. If you like ginger, you should have one.)
- Take your handful of leftover heirloom cherry tomatoes and throw in the pot.
- Don't let the garlic burn.
- Open a can of whole peeled tomatoes and throw in. Mash them up in the pot with the bottom of the can.
- Pop in a bay leaf, a decent pinch or two of paprika, a few whole cardamon pods, lots of pepper, salt. (You could put all sorts in at this stage, like cumin or turmeric or even a fresh chilli. You could also fry the spices in the oil first. Perhaps I'll do that next time.)
- I also added about a tablespoon of finely chopped coriander root, and kept the tops to serve. And some parsley.
- Add a carton of chicken stock, and bring to the boil.
- Taste and see. This could be a lot spicier.
- Decide whether to splurt or not. I tend to prefer chunky soups, but tomato is good nice and smooth.
Apparently Bruce Lee once said, "I fear not the man who has practiced ten thousand kicks once, but the man who has practiced one kick ten thousand times."
Update, later
I toasted some crusty bread and spread it with a generous amount of butter, then splurted the soup after removing the cardamon pods and the bay leaf. It paired remarkably well with a Thomas Fogarty "red wine" quaffer from 2008. Délicieux!
