SOUP - Tomato Soup (by Charlotte Opper)

By RHagan

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• pinch of salt
• 2 lbs tomatos (about 10 med tomatos)
• 2 - 3 cloves garlic, sliced
• 2 carrots finely chopped
• 2 celery
• 1 tbsp uncooked white rice or basmati rice (to thicken your soup)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• sprig of fresh thyme, basil, or dill
• 1/2 bay lead (optional)

Preparation

Step 1

To a large pot, add:

2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
pinch of salt

Cook over medium heat until things start to sizzle, and then cover and reduce to low until your onions are soft. Stir ’em around now and then. You don’t want to brown them. If that starts to happen, add a little water to the pot, but chances are the steam and condensation will generate enough moisture to prevent them from browning.

While your onions are steaming, gather up:

2 lbs tomatos (about 10 med tomatos)
2 - 3 cloves garlic, sliced
2 carrots finely chopped
2 celery
1 tbsp uncooked white rice or basmati rice (to thicken your soup)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
sprig of fresh thyme, basil, or dill
1/2 bay lead (optional)

1. Wash and core your tomatoes. Four clean slices through the tomato close to the core is how I do it. When all the cores have been removed, you’ll have a heap of tomatoes that looks something like this.

2. If your onions are nice and soft, slice your garlic and toss it into the pot and cook for a two minutes more.

3. Now, add the tomatoes, salt, rice, bay leaf and your fresh herbs to the pot of onions.

4. Cook all of this over medium heat, stirring once in a while until your tomatoes are well-cooked and break apart easily.

5. Now, you’re going to add:

1 cup water
1 more tbsp butter
another pinch of salt

6. Cook for a few more minutes to melt the butter and to ensure that your rice is tender.

7. Take the soup off the heat and remove the bay leaf and herbs.

8. Puree it to your liking.