Fresh tomato soup

Tomatoes used to be a summer staple in Poland. Every picnic by the lake, every outing to a river would be accompanied by hard-boiled eggs, buttered sandwiches and tomatoes. Sitting in the sun you could eat them like apples. 

When I think of tomatoes I think of the evenings spent in my grandmother's home. She lived in a small apartment right in the city, but her home in many ways resembled a country house. Her kitchen window looked over a small balcony, a place to relax and play and a tiny garden at the same time. My grandmother liked to experiment with growing her own 'crops', which would be a single pepper or tomato plant. Once there even was a grape vine. Every year she grew night-scented stock (Matthiola bicornis, maciejka in Polish) on her balcony. It's a very humble looking plant, that opens its flowers at night time and fills the air with its fragrance. I remember sitting on the balcony or by the table in the living room, being able to smell maciejka, with the lights dim and my hair still damp from the bath, and eating deliscious tomato sandwiches my grandmother prepared. The sandwiches were very simple if not humble, just some bread with butter, topped with tomato slices, some chopped onion and  seasoned with salt and pepper. And yet they were some of the best things I have ever tasted. Those times are long gone. But every time I smell maciejka I think of my grandmother's tomato sandwiches.

Fresh tomato soup is my summer staple. Its ingredients are very basic: tomatoes, a carrot, an onion and some fresh herbs, but they capture perfectly the aromas of August, of fields filled with flowers and herbs, of thyme and marjoram gathered in small bouquets and hung to dry for winter. What's even better, this soup can be easily preserved in jars or glass bottles. Every summer I make preserves to serve a small army over the following cold months and the fresh tomato soup occupies a significant part of my food storage. It's perfect for a quick meal in the middle of the week, when you don't have the time to cook, or you just want something warm and comforting. All you have to do is open a bottle and heat up its content, serve with a grilled cheese sandwich, and you have a ready meal in 15 minutes from start to finish. Because it's really thick I sometimes use it in casseroles or even as sauce for pasta. You can add cream to it, or thin it down with some milk, it's your choice. I like it plain and simple.

Ingredients:

1 medium onion
1 medium carrot
about a Tbsp of olive oil
1kg/ 2 1/4 lb tomatoes
2 garlic cloves
5-6 sprigs of thyme
5-6 sprigs of marjoram
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper

Chop the onion and carrot (I use a food processor). Meanwhile heat the olive oil in a fairly large pot. Add the onions with carrot and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Give it a stir every once in a while.

While the onions are cooking prepare tomatoes and garlic. I cut garlic clove just in half since I blend the soup with a blender. Cut the hard core out of the tomatoes and cut them in quarters. It will really take just a couple of minutes, just enough time for the onions to cook.

Transfer tomatoes and garlic to the pot and add the herbs. Stir, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. You might want to give it a stir once or twice during that time. You don't add any liquid, the tomatoes will produce plenty of it.

If you are using fresh herbs fish out the twigs and bay leaf, and process the soup with a hand held blender. If you have the time and patience you can pass the soup through a sieve, but I never bother. I quite like having a bit of texture in the soup.

Next, season with salt and pepper, add some cream if you wish so, et voila! Fresh tomato soup is served!

This recipe will serve 4-6. If you don't have fresh herbs you can substitute them with dried herbs (1/4 tsp of each).

If you want to preserve it for winter you will need glass jars or bottles with a metal twist lid. I like to use small 250ml bottles, which are a perfect serving for 1 person. Wash them and pour in and out boiling water. Pour hot soup to the bottles or jars and screw on the lid. Place them in a pot with boiling water. Make sure to put a tea towel on the bottom of the pot so the glass doesn't touch it. The jars or bottles can't be touching each other and the water should come half their height up. Reduce the heat and let boil for about 20-30 minutes (the bigger the jars/bottles the more time). Take them out and leave to cool. Store in a cool and dark place. They should keep for about a year.