I had made salsas, tarts, chutneys, jams and all kinds of sauces when I decided to make soup in the middle of 90 degree September weather. The tomatoes were still coming on strong when I wrote this yellow tomato soup recipe, but it had to be done. This is garden gold and we were running out of ideas for how to use them. Believe me, even on a hot summer day, the soup was amazing. It’s sunshine in a bowl! It’s a freezer friendly recipe, so that’s what I did ~ I made enough to freeze for winter months ahead. I made two gallons, ate a couple of quarts and put the rest in the freezer. We’re only in January and those quarts are already gone. Luckily, I froze several gallons of yellow tomatoes. When soup is a number one craving during colder months, these frozen gems come in handy. Please know, any tomato will work with this recipe. It’s a fabulously flavorful tomato soup and loves to be paired up with gourmet grilled cheese on really well crafted bread or these whipped ricotta smeared toasted baguettes. There’s a word I want to use to fully describe how good they are. I’ll keep it clean and just say DELICIOUS!
PLEASE NOTE : My photo looks blue because it was getting dark. Your ricotta will not be blue.
INGREDIENTS
- 4-5 pounds heirloom yellow (or red) tomatoes, quartered or cut into cut into chunks
- 4 T extra virgin olive oil
- 4 shallots, quartered
- 2 medium onions, rough chopped
- 5 cloves of fresh garlic, to equal 4 tablespoons
- 1 quart organic low-sodium vegetable stock
- 1 tsp organic sugar
- 3/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
- 1/2 tsp saffron
- 1 tsp tarragon (dry or fresh)
- 1 tsp Spanish smoked paprika (use Penzy’s!)
- 3/4 C heavy cream
In a medium stock pan on medium heat, warm olive oil and add in shallots and onions. Cook for approximately 5 minutes and add in garlic. Cook for another 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently to avoid burning. Increase heat to medium-high, and immediately add tomatoes and stock, sugar, salt, pepper, saffron, tarragon and paprika. Cook uncovered for 4-5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium low, cover pot and simmer for 10 minutes. With an emersion blender, blend ingredients until smooth and add in cream. Taste for seasoning. Add more salt or sugar if needed.
WHIPPED HERB RICOTTA BAGUETTE
- 1 cups ricotta (we chose whole fat for a richer flavor)
- 1/4 C goat cheese, room temperature
- 1 T fresh lemon zest
- 1/2 C fresh organic basil, chopped
- 6 springs of fresh organic thyme, stemmed and chopped
- 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
- 1 loaf of artisan seeded bread, sliced into narrow palm sized pieces
- 2-3 T extra virgin olive oil for drizzle on bread
In a food processor, add in ricotta, goat cheese, lemon zest, basil, thyme, salt and pepper and pulse until well incorporated. Set aside until ready to assemble toasted baguette. Toasting your baguette can be done under your broiler or on a grill. Simply drizzle olive oil evenly over both sides of your bread, place on parchment lined sheet pan and put under broiler for 3-4 minutes per side until golden and toasted. If using a grill, you’ll want to grill on medium high heat about 4-5 minutes per side until grill marked and slightly toasted.
COOK’S NOTES:
- If you’re not a fan of tarragon, a good substitute is an equal amount of fresh or dry thyme OR fresh chives.
- Omitting the saffron will require an increase in herb flavor. I would double tarragon, thyme or chives.
- Using tarragon or chives in place of basil in the ricotta is really tasty and a nice pairing when using tarragon or chives in the soup.
- Below is a recipe for whipped ricotta with roasted cherry tomatoes. This is a great recipe and GREAT pairing with this soup. It’s a wonderful serve-yourself buffet item or an easy way to dress up prepared sliced baguette.