Mr. DIY, often talks fondly about his Mum's homemade tomato soup he used to enjoy as a child on cold Winter's nights in Toowoomba. We were given some beautiful Roma tomatoes from Bowen on the weekend, by our Frequent Traveller and good friend Paul, and I found this recipe for tomato soup in my Maggie Beer's Harvest book., one of my favourites. Apparently the Toowoomba version had milk added, which I couldn't quite come at this time, and had more tomato chunks throughout, however the flavour with the addition of white pepper is apparently just like his Mother Jessie used to make. What a success and such comfort food on a cold night with sourdough toast!
Ingredients:
6 medium tomatoes, very ripe yet firm (Bowen Roma tomatoes work very well)
1 kg onions, thinly sliced (preferably brown onions)
1/3 cup (80ml) extra virgin oil, plus extra to serve
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
sea salt flakes
white pepper
1/2 teaspoon sugar (optional), or to taste
1/2 cup (125ml) Maggie Beer verjuice or dry white wine
1 litre boiling water
4 slices good bread, slightly stale
Process:
Cut the core out of the tomatoes. This soup is meant to be on the rustic side so there is no need to peel or seed them.Cut each tomato into halves, quarters then eighths.Cook the onions over a low heat in a heavy-based saucepan for about 10 minutes using a wooden spoon until they are nice and golden and very soft. Add the garlic and salt to the pan and cook for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the sugar, which will enhance the flavour of the tomatoes and give a boost if they are not in perfect condition.
Cook for 10 minutes and then add the verjuice and water. I only added half the water so that it would be nice and thick, and the water can be eliminated completely for a superior soup which won't go as far. This can then also be used as a pasta topping.
Add plenty of white pepper to taste. (This is the secret ingredient.) Simmer, covered for 45 minutes before serving. Drizzle a little olive oil over each slice of bread and place a slice in each serving bowl. (This is optional depending on the occasion.)
Ladle the soup over the bread and enjoy. Add fresh herbs if you would like them, however the soup is delicious without them.
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