Cherry Tomato Soup (Gary Rhodes)

Summerwine's Note:

Another fantastic Gary Rhodes recipe. Light and delicious! Perfect for a starter course but fantastic for a summer lunch as well. I have made this several times when cherry tomato season comes around. I have also frozen this with great results. NOTE: A basic passata is a sauce made of tomatoes, basil, water, preservative, however some types have more herbs and spices in them, so make sure you like what is in your passata as it will be a main flavour in your soup. You can substitute tomato sauce (not ketchup!) or canned tomatoes (put through the food processor). Sometimes I don’t have passata on hand so I put a can of chopped tomatoes in the food processor (enough to equal the recipe equivalent) and add a bit of basil to it to taste. I don't add water because the canned tomatoes are already in liquid. I hope you enjoy this soup as much as I do.

• Total Time: 35 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 medium red onions , sliced
• 2 garlic cloves , crushed
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 lb cherry tomatoes , halved (500 grams)
• 10 fluid ounces passata (see note above)
• 16 fluid ounces vegetable stock
• coarse sea salt (to taste)
• pepper (to taste)

Directions:

1. Heat up the olive oil in a frying pan.
2. Add the red onions to the pan over medium heat until the start to colour and become softened; about 3-4 minutes.
3. When the onions begin to soften add the garlic and slowly cook both together until softened about a minute or so. (The garlic is added second to prevent it from burning and tasting bitter.).
4. Add the red wine vinegar to the pan and bring to a boil. Cook until only a bit of liquid is left. (Be careful not to reduce too much or it will give your soup a soury taste.).
5. Add the cherry tomato halves to the pan and fry for 10 minutes, making sure to stir occasionally so they don't burn.
6. Stir in the passata (see note in description of recipe above) and vegetable stock to the tomato mixture, bring to a low boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes more.
7. Taste the broth then sprinkle sea salt and pepper over soup to your taste.
8. Serving: you can serve with torn fresh basil leaves over top.