Irish Tomato Soup Recipes

THE BEST EVER TOMATO SOUP

Steps:

• In a 6-quart stockpot or Dutch oven, heat oil, butter and pepper flakes over medium heat until butter is melted. Add carrots and onion; cook, uncovered, over medium heat, stirring frequently, until vegetables are softened, 8-10 minutes. Add garlic and dried basil; cook and stir 1 minute longer. Stir in tomatoes, chicken stock, tomato paste, sugar, salt and pepper; mix well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, to let flavors blend, 20-25 minutes. , Remove pan from heat. Using a blender, puree soup in batches until smooth. If desired, slowly stir in heavy cream, stirring continuously to incorporate; return to stove to heat through. Top servings with fresh basil if desired.

IRISH POTATO SOUP

Steps:

• Place the bacon in a large, deep skillet, and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain the bacon slices on a paper towel-lined plate, crumble, and set aside.
• Cook and stir onion and celery in the remaining bacon grease over medium heat until the onion is translucent and tender. Drain excess grease, then stir in potatoes. Add water to cover all but 1 inch of the potatoes. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to medium-low, and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the evaporated milk, and continue cooking until warmed through. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in bacon just before serving.

TOMATO SOUP

Steps:

• Firstly, prepare your vegetables. You need 1-1.25kg/2lb 4oz-2lb 12oz ripe tomatoes. If the tomatoes are on their vines, pull them off. The green stalky bits should come off at the same time, but if they don't, just pull or twist them off afterwards. Throw the vines and green bits away and wash the tomatoes. Now cut each tomato into quarters and slice off any hard cores (they don't soften during cooking and you'd get hard bits in the soup at the end). Peel 1 medium onion and 1 small carrot and chop them into small pieces. Chop 1 celery stick roughly the same size.
• Spoon 2 tbsp olive oil into a large heavy-based pan and heat it over a low heat. Hold your hand over the pan until you can feel the heat rising from the oil, then tip in the onion, carrot and celery and mix them together with a wooden spoon. Still with the heat low, cook the vegetables until they're soft and faintly coloured. This should take about 10 minutes and you should stir them two or three times so they cook evenly and don't stick to the bottom of the pan.
• Holding the tube over the pan, squirt in about 2 tsp of tomato purée, then stir it around so it turns the vegetables red. Shoot the tomatoes in off the chopping board, sprinkle in a good pinch of sugar and grind in a little black pepper. Tear 2 bay leaves into a few pieces and throw them into the pan. Stir to mix everything together, put the lid on the pan and let the tomatoes stew over a low heat for 10 minutes until they shrink down in the pan and their juices flow nicely. From time to time, give the pan a good shake - this will keep everything well mixed.
• Slowly pour in the 1.2 litres/ 2 pints of hot stock (made with boiling water and 4 rounded tsp bouillon powder or 2 stock cubes), stirring at the same time to mix it with the vegetables. Turn up the heat as high as it will go and wait until everything is bubbling, then turn the heat down to low again and put the lid back on the pan. Cook gently for 25 minutes, stirring a couple of times. At the end of cooking the tomatoes will have broken down and be very slushy looking.
• Remove the pan from the heat, take the lid off and stand back for a few seconds or so while the steam escapes, then fish out the pieces of bay leaf and throw them away. Ladle the soup into your blender until it's about three-quarters full, fit the lid on tightly and turn the machine on full. Blitz until the soup's smooth (stop the machine and lift the lid to check after about 30 seconds), then pour the puréed soup into a large bowl. Repeat with the soup that's left in the pan. (The soup may now be frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost before reheating.)
• Pour the puréed soup back into the pan and reheat it over a medium heat for a few minutes, stirring occasionally until you can see bubbles breaking gently on the surface. Taste a spoonful and add a pinch or two of salt if you think the soup needs it, plus more pepper and sugar if you like. If the colour's not a deep enough red for you, plop in another teaspoon of tomato purée and stir until it dissolves. Ladle into bowls and serve. Or sieve and serve chilled with some cream swirled in. For other serving suggestions, see opposite.

TOMATO AND BASIL SOUP WITH JAMESON IRISH WHISKEY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. 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. Add Whiskey and Cream, and let simmer 10 minutes, working the tomatoes with a spoon to break them up in the mixture.

IRISH BLUE CHEESE AND TOMATO SOUP

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425. Rub a bit of olive oil on your hands and coat each of the tomato halves. place them cut side down on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast the tomatoes in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and chop the tomatoes roughly in a food processor or by hand.
• In the bottom of your soup pot cook the bacon over low heat until it's crisp. Remove to a plate and cover with a paper towel. Reserve a tablespoon of the bacon fat to cook the vegetables.
• Add the onion, celery and carrots to the soup pot and cook stirring occasionally for 1 - 2 minutes, until the onion is translucent. Stir in the flour and mix well until it's completely incorporated with the veggies in the pot. Pour in the heated stock and stir well until the stock thickens slightly and the vegetables are soft.
• Crumble the cheese into the pot and add the chopped tomatoes. Bring the soup to a boil stirring to help melt the cheese. Remove the pot from heat and use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth. (Or let the soup cool slightly and process in batches in a blender or food processor; then return the soup to the pot.). Cook until the soup is hot but not yet at the simmer.
• Roughly chop the bacon.Serve the soup in individual bowls,, topped with bacon. Sprinkle the black pepper and chopped parsley if desired.