DELIA SMITH
Roasted Tomato Soup with Puree of Basil and Olive Croutons
When you oven roast tomatoes something magical happens, the flavour
is concentrated and the toasted edges also give a lovely flavour, making
this the best tomato soup recipe ever.
Preparation
Serves 6
Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 5, 375°F (190°C).
Ingredients
You will also need a good solid, shallow roasting tray about
14 x 11 x ? inches deep (35 x 28 x 2 cm deep).
3 lb (1.35 kg) ripe, red, firm tomatoes
about 1 oz (25 g) fresh basil
3 fat cloves garlic, unpeeled
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for dipping
1 large potato, about 6 oz (175 g)
2 rounded teaspoons tomato purée
1 dessertspoon balsamic vinegar
salt and freshly milled black pepper
First of all, skin the tomatoes by pouring boiling water on
them, leave for 1 minute exactly before slipping the skins
off. Now, slice each tomato in half and arrange the halves
on the baking tray, cut side uppermost. Place the garlic
cloves on the tray as well, leaving their skins on. Then season
everything with salt and pepper and sprinkle a few droplets
of olive oil on each tomato half and some on the garlic –
about 2 tablespoons in all. Then finally top each one with
a piece of basil leaf (dipping the leaf in oil first to give it
a good coating).
Now pop the whole lot into the oven and roast for 1 hour
or until the edges of the tomatoes are slightly blackened.
For the croutons:
3 oz (75 g) ciabatta, crusts removed, cut into small dice
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 level tablespoon black olive paste
While the tomatoes are roasting, prepare the croutons by
placing the bread cubes in a bowl, with the oil and the olive
paste, then toss them around to get a good coating of both.
JP Masclet
About 20 minutes before the end of the roasting time, peel
and chop the potato, place it in a saucepan with some salt
and 1 pint (570 ml) of boiling water. Add the tomato purée
then simmer for about 20 minutes.
When the tomatoes are ready, remove them from the oven,
but leave it switched on. Arrange the croutons on a small
baking tray and put them in the oven to bake for about
8 minutes using a timer. Now scrape the tomatoes and
all their juices into a food processor, rescue the garlic cloves
from the tray, and then simply squeeze the pulp to join the
tomatoes and discard the skins. Then add the contents of
the potato saucepan and whiz everything to a thick purée,
not too smooth. If you want to, you can sieve the pips out,
but I prefer to leave them in because I prefer that texture.
The soup is now ready for reheating – very gently.
Just before serving the soup make the basil purée. Strip the
leaves into a mortar, sprinkle them with half a teaspoon
of salt, then bash the leaves down with the pestle. It takes
a minute or two for the leaves to become a purée. Now add
the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the balsamic
vinegar and stir well. To serve the soup, pour it into warm
serving bowls and drizzle the basil purée on the surface,
then finally sprinkle on the croutons and serve with some
ciabatta bread warmed through in the oven.
This recipe is taken from The Delia Collection: Soup.
© Delia Smith
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Registered Charity No. 265464
HUGH FEARNLEY-WHITTINGSTALL
Spicy Lamb Burgers
Lamb is the ultimate meat for barbecuing, its unmistakable flavour always
shining through the smoky, chargrilled taste. This recipe uses Indian-inspired
spicing and is definitely for those who like it hot. You can use the same
marinade for lamb chops.
Preparation
Serves 6
1. Put the chilli flakes in a pestle and mortar with the
other dry spices and pound to a coarse powder. Put the
lamb mince in a bowl, add the spices and the garlic, and
mix well. Cover and leave in the fridge for at least an
hour for the flavours to infuse.
Ingredients
2. Form the mixture into patties about 2cm thick.
Lightly brush each with oil before barbecuing over a
high heat – or grilling – for 4-5 minutes on each side,
until nicely browned and cooked through. You could also
fry them in a lightly oiled pan. Season them with a little
salt on each side as you cook them.
3. Serve the burgers in buns with salad, a spoonful of
good fruity chutney and/or a cooling raita made by
mixing plain yoghurt with a little crushed garlic, diced
cucumber, salt and pepper.
1kg coarsely minced lamb
1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes
2 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp red peppercorns (if available)
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
olive oil, for grilling
salt, to taste
River C
otta
From: The River Cottage Meat Book published by Hodder
and Stoughton. © River Cottage
ge ©
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Registered Charity No. 265464
RICK STEIN
Steamed Mussels with Tomato and Tarragon
Preparation
Serves 4
Make sure the mussels are tightly closed. If they are
fresh-farmed ones there is no need to wash them,
but if they are showing any signs of grit or sand wash
them in copious amounts of cold water.
Ingredients
Take a large saucepan, add the olive oil and garlic and
soften over a medium heat for about a minute. Add
the mussels or pippies, turn up the heat and add the
white wine. Put a lid on the pan and cook for a few
minutes until all the shells have opened, but only just.
Stir the shells once or twice during the cooking to
distribute them evenly. Remove and pour through
a colander set over a bowl.
Add the mussels back into the pan. Serve with plenty of
crusty bread or alternatively with a mound of al dente
linguine pasta.
L
a
y
to
n
Thomp
son/Te
arfund
Keep the mussels warm while you transfer the liquor
to a pan, heat until boiling, whisk in the butter then
add the tomato and tarragon. Check the seasoning;
it’s always a good idea to leave seasoning to the end
with shellfish because you never know how salty they
are going to be, then add salt if necessary and freshly
ground black pepper.
1 kg mussels or pippies
30 ml dry white wine
60 g tomatoes, peeled, deseeded and finely chopped
5g French tarragon, finely chopped
30 ml extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
30g unsalted butter
© Rick Stein The Seafood Restaurant
Step up to the plate
with Tearfund this
harvest time and
secure food forever
for allotment farmers
like Wendenda Yampa
(pictured).
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