Antony’s homemade Tomato soup and homemade Lemony and Herby Croutons
Antony’s homemade Tomato soup
Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil (I used a great glug)
2 garlic cloves, crushed (I used 12 cloves)
1 medium onion (I used 2 large)
1 tsp tomato paste (I used 3 tsp)
3 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes (I used 1 x A10 can which is approximately 3L)
500ml chicken or vegetable stock (I used 1L)
1 tbsp caster sugar (I used 3 tbsp)
150ml full-fat milk (I used 250 ml)
150ml double cream (I used 250 ml) note: best not add if you intend on freezing
salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
2 bay leaves (I used 6 fresh leaves)
2 sprigs of thyme (I used 4 fresh springs)
Method
In a large heavy bottomed pot, heat olive oil and add rough-diced onion. Firstly, ensure the pot is large enough to hold all your liquid ingredients. Once they have softened and turned translucent, add chopped garlic (or crushed) and after a few seconds and a quick stir through, add the tomato paste.
Add tinned tomatoes, herbs, stock and sugar and bring to the boil, stirring constantly. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then cover with a lid, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
Remove from the heat and, using a hand blender, blend the soup in the pot. Stir in the milk and cream and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper before returning to a medium heat to warm through.
Serving suggestions and tips:
Serve piping hot topped with croutons and grated parmesan and or with some lovely warm crusty bread on the side. A dollop of pesto is a nice addition. This is a wonderful soup best enjoyed with company and will warm any winter day or evening. For this recipe I had approximately five litres of soup, so I decided to decant into containers and share. Note: if you are planning to freeze, it’s best not to add the cream until you are about to serve it. Frozen cream can change the texture once defrosted.
Antony’s lemony and herby Croutons:
Ingredients:
Either a loaf of bread or a few slices, preferably plain bread but any bread will do
4 tbsp parsley
2 tbsp sage
1 tbsp thyme
5 tbsp of lemon zest
Glug of olive oil
Salt and pepper
Method:
Cut bread into approximately 2cm size cubes
In a large bowl, add the chopped bread, finely chopped herbs, lemon zest and a good glug of olive oil. Mix very well to ensure the bread is well coated in the ingredients. Add salt and freshly ground pepper.
There are two ways to cook these, either in the oven or the stop top.
Oven:
Pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius on fan. Line a baking tray with baking paper then spread out the ingredients evenly on the tray so the croutons are all lying flat and not too overcrowded. If you have too much piled up, consider splitting over a couple of trays so they cook evenly. Cook for approximately 8 – 10 minutes until golden and crisp. Half-way through you might want to give the tray a good shake to help with even browning. Leave to cool completely on a wire rack then store in an airtight container.
Stove:
Heat a fry pan on medium to high and add olive oil. In batches, add the croutons and fry until they are golden and crisp. Do them in batches so they cook evenly and it’s easier to ensure they don’t burn. You may need to add more oil as you go and perhaps clear away any burnt bits so they don’t taint your oil or croutons. Transfer to a tray lined with kitchen towel, to absorb any excess oil, and once they have cooled completely, transfer to an airtight container.
Tips:
The oven is by far the easier method to do these especially if you’re doing a large amount, there’s much less admin than faffing with a pan of hot oil. Stove top to me makes for a better flavour however oven cooked is the healthier option which uses less oil and you will likely get more of an even cook. I grazed at this batch over the course of a week and noticed they needed a little extra oven love as they had softened a little come day 5.