The Easiest Tomato Soup

After making this you will NEVER buy tomato soup again. This is amazingly simple and amazingly cheap, not to mention healthy. Now if you don't have tomatoes growing in your garden or it is now Winter and you have none preserved from your Summer crops I would recommend you go to your fruit market and have a look to see if they have any on big discount - you know the area where they put the fruit and vegetables that are a bit too soft to sell for full price? These soft tomatoes are perfect for this soup and will not only make a quality soup but a lovely inexpensive dinner or entree.

Now I cannot take the credit for this soup. This is from Stephanie Alexanders, Cooks Companion. My changes to the recipe are very minimal.

Serves 6

Ingredients:
60 g Butter
1 Onion Sliced
1.5kg Very Ripe Red Tomatoes seeded
1 Ltr of very good quality chicken stock
2 tbsp Potato Flour

1. Melt butter and saute' onion in a large pot until softened
2. Add tomato and simmer gently on low for about 20 minutes or until cooked - they need to be falling apart.
3. Add stock to pot
   
4. Using a stick hand blender (the quickest method) puree' in the pot
5. OR if you don't have a stick blender put stock and a food processor to puree'
6. OR if you don't have 4 or 5 above puree' tomato in a food mill add to pot and add stock
   
7. In a small tea cup mix the potato flour with a little water and mix to a thick paste
8. Add a ladle full of soup to the cup and mix then add all to the pot of soup
9. Season with salt and ppper to taste
   
10. Simmer gently until hot
11. Spoon into bowls and serve with hot crusty bread

Optional: Sprinkle served bowls of soup with roughly chopped basil.
If you like your soup a little thinner add a little more chicken stock.

Freezing: This can be frozen.