Cold Tomato Soup with Rosemary
2 slices good stale white bread, crusts
removed
3 pounds ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and roughly chopped
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves
1 small garlic clove
1 cup chicken stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Juice of 1 lemon or more
- Soak the bread in cold water briefly;
squeeze dry and combine in a blender with the tomatoes, rosemary,
and garlic (you may have to do this in two batches). Turn on
the machine and drizzle in the stock. Turn off the machine and
pour the mixture into a bowl.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste,
then add lemon juice to taste. Chill and serve.
Serves 4.
Note: Tomatoes should always be cored before
using. With the paring knife, cut a cone-shaped wedge out of
the stem end and remove it. And in this instance peeling and
seeding the tomatoes are worth the effort as well. To do so,
bring a pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, cut a small "x"
on the smooth (flower) end of each tomato. Drop them into the
boiling water. In about thirty seconds, you'll see the skin begin
to loosen. Immediately remove from the boiling water and plunge
into a bowl of ice water. When they're cool, peel, then cut them
in half through their equator. Squeeze and shake out the seeds.
You might consider doing this over a strainer and recombining
the reserved juices with the pulp.
