Rosemary Barron’s country tomato soup

There are so many glorious recipes in Rosemary Barron’s Flavours of Greece that it was very difficult to pick out one which signifies the quality of this book.

As tomatoes are ripening in gardens and allotments at the moment, I have chosen her Country Tomato Soup, which calls for tomatoes at their sweetest — as they are now.

YOU WILL NEED

• 2 tbspns extra virgin olive oil
• One large onion — finely chopped
• ½ small celery stick — finely chopped
• One small carrot — finely diced
• 1 tbspn dried thyme
• 675g/1½ lb ripe tomatoes, skinned and diced — juices reserved
• 1 tspn honey
• Sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste
• 1 litre /1¾ pts chicken stock
• 50g/2oz kritharaki or 4 tbspns medium-grain bulgur
• One bunch watercress leaves only — rinsed and coarsely chopped
• 2 tbspns finely chopped flat leaf parsley
• Finely grated kasseri, kephalotyri or Parmesan cheese to garnish

  Method:

• Warm the olive oil in a large heavy saucepan set over low heat and sauté the onion, celery, carrot, and thyme until pale golden brown (25 mins approx) stir occasionally.

• Stir in the tomatoes and their juices, honey and salt and pepper and simmer for four minutes or until tomatoes are soft.

• Add the stock and bring to the boil.

Add the kritharaki or bulgur and simmer for four minutes or until the kritharaki is almost cooked.

• Add the watercress and, simmer for one minute. Stir in the parsley and serve immediately with small bowls of grated cheese.

Note: If using bulgur rather than kritharaki, bring a small saucepan of water to the boil over medium meat. Add the bulgur, boil for one minute, drain and rinse under cold running water. Stir into the soup at the end.

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