Tomato soup for the summer
This recipe came about because this summer I had tons of leftover tomatoes that we only used to decorate the table. My client’s commitment to the aesthetic of the party is just one of the many things I adore about her, but I could not let these go to waste so I took them home. Two days later I felt inspired to make this soup and delivered it as a little treat, after having a bowl myself, of course ;).
She believes in me so this is my way of showing her how much I appreciate her. The fact that she doesn’t not like garlic or onions and I still love her says a lot. I was trying to come up with a way to add body and umami without my trusty savory soldiers, and so I blended in a bunch of parmesan but that wasn’t quite enough. I had some leftover smoked corn from a party I had the next night so threw it in the Vitamix and the rest was history and now I make it all the time.
This recipe can be made all in one for a casual lunch or made deconstructed for an elevated summer soup for a dinner party. I love to highlight summer produce at its peak and this soup is a lovely way to celebrate corn and tomatoes at their best.
Ingredients
For this recipe I really encourage you to look at this as a guide, rather than an exact formula. Please measure with your heart.
-4 cups ripe, peak of the summer tomatoes
-good olive oil, have an entire bottle next to you.
-kosher salt, to taste
-1-2 ears Smoked corn - instructions in directions
-handful freshly picked basil
- handful or two parmesean cheese
-several glugs of heavy cream
-1 qt homemade chicken stock
-pepper
-OPTIONAL onions and garlic, if you must
Directions
Smoke your corn by shucking it and coating in olive oil and placing in your smoker for at least an hour at medium heat (I try to keep around 300 degrees F.) It will be darker gold on the outside of the kernel like the picture above. Set this aside and when it’s cool, cut the kernels off the cob. Don’t have a smoker? I don’t know what to tell you. Come back when you get one?
Set oven to 420 degrees Fahrenheit. In a Pyrex or a Le cruset place all of your tomatoes roughly chopped (a little onion and garlic if using) and toss with a generous pinch or three of salt and pour olive oil over it until they are completely coated and in a little puddle. I don’t know how much olive oil this ends up being and it’s none of my business. Roast until the tomatoes have burst and the juices have begun to reduce and caramelize. What we are doing is creating a more concentrated deep tomato flavor to carry throughout the soup.
When the tomatoes are done, depending on your oven this could take longer or shorter, let them cool off enough to put to in your Vitamix blender. Blend on low for a few seconds, it does not take much. Leave a little bit of chunk in there. This may take two rounds of blending depending on a lot of factors (how many tomatoes you started with, how much you cooked them down, if you used onions etc)
Pour 3/4 of the tomato mixture out into your Le cruset dutch oven (or whatever pot you are making your soup in) and to the blender pitcher add your smoked corn, some of the heavy cream, parmesan cheese and some of the chicken stock and a few basil leaves. Enough to get the blender moving to create a puree not not too much liquid because some of the kernels will not blend perfectly smooth if there is too much liquid in the blender.
Blend until perfectly smooth and add it to the pot with the tomatoes and add the rest of the chicken stock. Add more heavy cream if you want here! This is where the recipe will become up to your preferences. Here is where I like to add salt, simmer and then taste again until it’s perfect.
Stir in more roughly chopped basil right before serving with a bunch of freshly cracked pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. I recommend having bread nearby.
