Sunday, July 6, 2008

Here's the recipe

Yes, people asked for it: the tomato basil soup recipe.

My daughter gave me a photocopy of the recipe from some cookbook-- I suspect is it one of the Junior League's from somewhere in Texas. This is Dory Ahlquist's version of the La Madeleine famous tomato basil soup. I've added my own annotations in blue and italics

"4 c. tomatoes (8 to 10), peeled, cored, seeded, and chopped
4 c. tomato juice (or you can use V8 --just not the spicy kind!)
12 to 14 fresh basil leaves, rinsed well
1 c. heavy whipping cream
1/2 c. unsalted butter (this would be 1 stick of butter: I use 1/2 stick and it's still great.)
Salt and pepper

In medium saucepan, combine tomatoes and juice; simmer over medium-low heat for 30 minutes. Cool slightly. Place in blender or food processor and process with basil leaves until pureed. Return mixture to saucepan and add cream and butter; stir over low heat until incorporated. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with crusty bread. (I like to garnish the bowl with a couple of big, beautiful basil leaves. So pretty!)

Note: To peel tomatoes easily, mark an X in the bottom of each tomato with a sharp knife. Blanch tomatoes in a pot of boiling water for 30 seconds, then plunge into an ice bath. The skin will begin to curl at the X mark. Using the sharp knife, carefully peel the skin from the flesh.

This recipe is delicious with home-grown tomatoes and basil."

Thank you, Dory, wherever you are!

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1 comment:

Abby said...

The recipe is from the New Braunfels Presbyterian Women's cookbook, FYI.