I HEARD that Heinz Cream of Tomato soup was originally created using San Marzano tomatoes. If this is true, they knew what they were doing. Over the last 100 years, they have sold over 8 billion tins.
San Marzano tomatoes are an elongated variety beloved of Italians to make their delicious sugos for pasta. They are grown widely in the southern province of Salerno, in the rich alluvial soils in the slopes of Vesuvius. These days, they command the status of DOP (protected Designation of Origin) they are so widely prized.
The last of the tomatoes for sale now are the end of the season and are soft and over-ripened. Any over-ripe tomatoes are perfect to capture in a home-made tomato soup. Serve with some country bread and a chunk of Isle Of Mull cheddar.
HOME-MADE CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP
50g unsalted butter
1 large white onion (about 225g), peeled and finely sliced
½ fennel bulb, chopped
1.25 kilo over-ripened tomatoes
1 teaspoon tomato puree
2 teaspoons caster sugar
Sea salt and black pepper
3-4 tablespoons double cream
Fresh basil
METHOD
Melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan. Add the onion slices and stir until coated well with the butter. Add the chopped fennel and stir.
Cover with the lid and sauté on a low heat until the onions are softened and translucent. Having the pot covered allows the onions and fennel to steam and sweeten.
Wash and chop the tomatoes into rough-sized pieces, removing the stalks and blemishes.
Add to the saucepan and stir in the tomato puree.
Cook for 30-40 minutes until the tomatoes have collapsed down and all the juices have been released.
Liquidise everything until smooth and then (the only boring part) use a wooden spoon to push the mixture through a fine sieve into the rinsed-out saucepan.
There will be about a tablespoon of waste, seeds, and skins etc, but most of the tomatoes will be used.
Warm the mixture and add enough water to create a good consistency.
Add the sugar and use the sea salt and black pepper to season to taste.
When ready to serve, warm the soup and stir in the double cream to add a delicious creaminess. Don’t bring the soup to a boil to prevent the cream separating.
Serve with torn fresh basil leaves.
(For a vegan version of this soup add a peeled and grated floury potato to the saucepan with the chopped tomatoes to help thicken the soup instead of using the double cream.)
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here