Tomatoes - Can You Ever Like Them?

iPhone photo © Peter Tooker

Tomatoes were a real challenge for me to eat when I was a child - perhaps it was the acidity, perhaps it was the 1960's "hot house" tomatoes which were hard as rocks, barely red, and absolutely flavorless. Whatever the reason, I didn't like them and I avoided them at all costs ... until one summer day, when my mother brought a fresh tomato home from a farmer's market. She cajoled me into trying this one, one she promised would be different. She also knew she was working with an impressionable child and "a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down".

I watched her slice into this incredibly beautiful, bright red, juicy tomato and could hardly believe this is what a tomato was supposed to look like. She placed a slice each on two plates. She walked me to the living room (where we were never allowed to eat anything), invited me to sit cross-legged on the floor, handed me a napkin, sprinkled each tomato slice with a dusting of granular sugar, and, by example, picked hers up with her fingers and began to eat this wondrously special fruit. 

I was mesmerized by this special moment with my mother and the fact that we were breaking "the rules", but I have to say I fell in love with the tomato that day ... the real ones, the ones that grow in your own garden or at least one in your own town.

My younger sister is still, to this day, trying to find a way to eat tomatoes that she will like. The Tomato and Mustard Tart last summer "sorta" worked, for all the wrong reasons, but I now submit this recipe to her for a sincere "try". This Roasted Tomato Basil Soup is so wonderful, with a medley of flavors that features the tomato but isn't "all about the tomato". Please little sister, and any one else listening, you should try this recipe. Full of flavor with just a touch of heat. I truly believe a doubting-tomato-eater, could become a convert.

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup
Serves 6-8

3 pounds ripe plum tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1½ teaspoons freshly ground pepper
2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
28 ounces canned plum tomatoes with their juice
4 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1 quart chicken stock
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• Preheat the oven to 400 ℉. 
• Toss together the tomatoes, 1/4 cup olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread the tomatoes in 1 layer on a baking sheet and roast for 45 minutes. 
• In an 8-quart stockpot over medium heat, saute the onions and garlic with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the butter, and red pepper flakes for 10 minutes, until the onions start to brown. Add the canned tomatoes, basil, thyme, and chicken stock. Add the oven-roasted tomatoes, including the liquid on the baking sheet. Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for 40 minutes. Pass through a food mill fitted with the coarsest blade. Taste for seasonings. Serve hot or cold.

 

Comments

[Claudia]

Alas, the season is over.

[S.hughes]

Nice post - tomatoes are my favorite food! Best thing about Summer hands down!

[Sally]

This soup is fabulous!!!!! Instead of using a food mill I used my Vitamix blender and it did a fabulous job.

[Sally]

I promise I will try this recipe the next time I venture over to Whole Foods which will either be this or next weekend.

[frannie]

have to try the soup-looks good!
i also am not a big tomato fan- I mainly like my mom's cooked/stuffed tomatoes and good cherry or grape tomatoes.
runs in the family i guess!