Grilled Vegetables
Grilled Tomato Soup Recipe with Basil
This tomato basil soup recipe uses vine-ripened tomatoes, which are left to ripen on the vine. This allows their sugars to develop and gives them a more intense flavor and a deep red color. Vine-ripened tomatoes are rich in vitamin C, vitamin E and lycopene which is an antioxidant.
In this tomato soup recipe, the tomatoes are grilled before being combined with delicious ingredients such as garlic, oregano and chili flakes and parmesan cheese. The soup is served over a whole grilled tomato. This tomato basil soup recipe is very tasty and results in a warming soup which is perfect served as an appetizer with warm crusty bread.
A Tomato Basil Soup Recipe with the Flavor of the Grill
Ingredients -
3 cups vegetable stock
2 tablespoons grated parmesan
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
12 tomatoes
¼ teaspoon sugar
3 sprigs fresh basil, coarsely chopped
1 cup tomato juice
2 smashed cloves garlic
¼ teaspoon dried chili flakes
1 tablespoon oregano
Salt and black pepper, to taste
Preparation:
Preheat the grill.
Brush some of the olive oil on the tomatoes and grill them for about 18 minutes or until the skin starts to char and peel off.
Let them cool a bit.
Peel and chop 8 of them.
Keep the juice but throw away the skin. Mix the tomato flesh and juices in a pan with a tablespoon of the olive oil, the tomato juice, stock, garlic, sugar, salt, pepper and chili flakes.
Simmer the mixture for 15 minutes then remove the garlic and adjust the seasoning.
Put the 4 reserved tomatoes in 4 warmed soup bowls, then ladle the soup over them.
Scatter the oregano and parmesan on top, then garnish with the remaining olive oil and chopped basil.
(Serves 4)
A Picture of tomato basil soup recipe combining this with the taste of the grill will make a tomato soup fan out of even those who will not touch the caned stuff. Grilling the tomatoes brings out a wonderful flavor distinctly its own.
Tomato Facts and Trivia
Worldwide there are more than 60 million tons of tomatoes produced every year.
Tomatoes are a great source off vitamins A and C and are cholesterol free.
The world record for the largest tomato According to the Guinness Book of World Records ever produced weighed 7 pounds, 12 ounces grown from a Burpee Delicious verity. The plant went on to set another world record for the longest tomato vine ever grown at 53 feet, 6 inches grown in Edmond, Oklahoma USA.
Red tomatoes are not as sweet as the yellow ones because of lower sugar content in red tomatoes.
Tomatoes are grown in more than 85% of the world with more than 10,000 tomato cultivars.
The scientific name for the tomato is Lycopersicon lycopersicum. Lycopersicon is a genus of the nightshade family of plants.
The smallest verity of tomato is the Currant tomato it measures in at less than 1/2 inch in diameter.
The typical American family eats more than 80 pounds of tomatoes apiece each year.
The easiest way to peel a tomato is to put in a pot of boiling water for approximately ten to fifteen seconds this will allow the skin to be peeled easily.
The red pigment in tomatoes is high in Lycopene and is a powerful anti-oxidant that can help prevent cancer.