Sunny Provencal Tomato Soup Recipes

PROVENCAL TOMATO SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a wide, heavy-bottomed pan. Add the onion and cook for a minute. Turn the heat to medium, add the bay leaves and sweat the onion until it starts to soften, about 8 minutes. It shouldn't color, so stir from time to time to prevent it sticking and burning.
• Turn the heat up to medium-high. Add the cayenne pepper, sugar and cook for a minute, then add the tomatoes and garlic. Cook, stirring until the tomatoes take on an orangey hue and have reduced a little.
• Add the pearl barley, Parmesan rind, if using, and the stock, plus salt to taste. Bring to a simmer, lower the heat and cover. Cook until the barley is tender enough to smash with a spoon against the side of the pan, about 40 minutes. If substituting Arborio rice, it will take about half the amount of time to cook.
• Let the soup sit for a few minutes. Remove the bay leaves and blend thoroughly, in batches, using either a wand blender or a freestanding one. Return to the pot, check the seasoning and add a grind or two of black pepper. Serve as is or with a few torn basil leaves or a little pesto stirred into it.

PROVENCAL SOUP

Steps:

• In a saucepan, heat oil and melt butter. Brown garlic and onion 4 minutes. Add salt and pepper. Add red bell pepper and zucchini, and let cook 4 minutes. Deglaze with the white wine.
• Add tomatoes and vegetable stock. Heat and let reduce, uncovered, 5 to 7 minutes. Add olives and basil. Stir delicately and heat a little bit more.
• Serve with garlic croutons.

PROVENçAL TOMATO AND BASIL SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven. Add the onion. Cook, stirring often, until tender, about five minutes. Stir in half the garlic and a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds to a minute. Add the tomatoes, sugar, basil sprigs or leaves and remaining garlic. Cook, stirring often, until the tomatoes have cooked down and smell fragrant, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Add the water, Parmesan rind and salt to taste. Bring to a simmer, cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer 15 minutes. Add the tapioca or rice, and simmer for another 15 minutes until the tapioca is tender and the soup fragrant. Remove the basil sprigs and Parmesan rind. Puree in a blender in small batches, taking care to place a towel over the top of the blender and hold it down tightly. If you used fresh unpeeled tomatoes and want a silkier soup, put through a strainer, using a spatula or the back of a ladle to push the soup through. Return to the pot, add pepper to taste and adjust salt. Serve garnished with garlic croutons and/or Parmesan, if desired, and slivered basil leaves. If serving cold, refrigerate until chilled.

PROVENCAL TOMATO SOUP WITH RICE

Steps:

• Cut a shallow X in bottom of each tomato with a sharp paring knife. Blanch tomatoes in batches of 2 or 3 in a 5- to 6-quart pot of boiling water 10 seconds, transferring with a slotted spoon to a bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking.
• Peel tomatoes, then halve crosswise. Squeeze halves gently, cut sides down, over a sieve set over a bowl to extract seeds and juices, then press on seeds and discard them. Reserve juice and tomatoes.
• Cook onions, carrot, celery, garlic, zest, thyme, red-pepper flakes, fennel seeds, and bay leaf in oil in a 2 1/2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes.
• Add tomatoes with reserved juice, tomato paste, water, chicken broth, salt, pepper, saffron, and 1 teaspoon sugar, then simmer, uncovered, stirring and breaking up tomatoes with a spoon occasionally, 20 minutes. Stir in rice and simmer, uncovered, until rice is tender, 10 to 20 minutes. Discard bay leaf and stir in parsley, basil, and sugar and salt to taste.

PROVENCAL VEGETABLE SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large stockpot, add the onions, and saute over low heat for 10 minutes, or until the onions are translucent. Add the leeks, potatoes, carrots, salt, and pepper and saute over medium heat for another 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock and saffron, bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, or until all the vegetables are tender. Add the haricots verts and spaghetti, bring to a simmer, and cook for 15 more minutes.
• To serve, whisk 1/4 cup of the pistou into the hot soup, then season to taste. Depending on the saltiness of your chicken stock, you may need to add up to another tablespoon of salt. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese and more pistou.
• Pistou:
• 4 large garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 24 large basil leaves
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 1/2 cup good olive oil
• Place the garlic, tomato paste, basil, and Parmesan in the bowl of a food processor and puree. With the motor running, slowly pour the olive oil down the feed tube to make a paste. Pack into a container, pour a film of olive oil on top, and close the lid.
• Yield: 1 cup

PROVENCE TOMATO SOUP

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in pot on medium heat and clarify the onions.
• Put in the rest of ingredients, stir and bring to a boil.
• Reduce the heat and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Remove parmesan rind and bay leaf.
• Add salt and pepper to taste and serve.

SUNNY'S SIMPLE ROASTED TOMATO SOUP WITH BROILED CHEESE TOAST

Steps:

• For the soup: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with nonstick aluminum foil.
• Drizzle some olive oil in a zig-zag motion on the foil. Add the thyme and garlic and season the baking sheet with salt and pepper. Place the tomatoes, bell peppers and jalapeno on the baking sheet sliced-side down, covering the garlic cloves and thyme as you go along. Pour over the onions, drizzle the top of everything with olive oil and season again with a pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Roast until the onions are golden and slightly charred, about 40 minutes.
• Transfer everything from the baking sheet to a blender in batches and pulse until smooth. Pour into a pot and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring the entire time. Add enough vegetable stock to achieve the desired consistency; you may not use it all. Keep warm on low.
• For the toast: Preheat the broiler on high.
• Put a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet and arrange the bread on the rack. Top each piece of bread with a slice of cheese and place under the broiler. WATCH while they cook: the cheese will melt and bubble, then the corners will begin to blacken--pull them out then! This takes less than a minute. Serve aside or atop a bowl of soup.

PROVENCAL GARLIC SOUP (AIGO BOUIDO)

Steps:

• Combine all the ingredients for the stock in a pot and bring to a boil over high heat.
• Reduce the heat and simmer partially covered for 30 minutes. Strain the stock, pressing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible.
• Discard the solids and return the stock to the pot, keeping it at a simmer.
• Whisk the egg yolks in a small bowl until thick and sticky.
• Adding the olive oil a few drops at a time, continue whisking to form a mayonnaise.
• Immediately before serving, whisk a ladleful of the hot stock into the egg mixture, then whisk the egg mixture into the stock - do not boil.
• Garnish by floating a slice or two of toasted French bread topped with shredded cheese in the soup.