Creamy Tomato Soup

Ingredients

• 1.1 litres chicken Stocks

  Stocks

  Made from your meat and fish bones.

  Frozen in ice cubes for gravies, risotto and cooking rice. Once frozen, remove from the ice trays and pack into freezer bags. Use stock powder or cubes if you do not have any home made available.

• 1 x 400g Canned chopped tomatoes

  Canned chopped tomatoes

  Great for instant pizza sauce, pasta, curry sauces.

  • The tomatoes will keep for up to a week, but don’t store them in the opened tin because the metal will start to rust and spoil the food. Instead, tip the tomatoes into a plastic container, cover with a lid, or clingfilm and store in the fridge.
  • Alternatively, put the tomatoes in a freezer-proof container and freeze for up to 12 months.
• 175g tub Crème fraiche

  Crème fraiche

  The French version of soured cream, it's twice as rich, and thicker than the British version of sour cream.

  • It can be used to lace soups, sauces and stews or it can be spooned over puddings and stirred into sweet dishes. Great for adding to leftovers, as it is quite rich and can withstand being heated.
  • Plain full-fat yoghurt can be used instead of crème fraîche in cooking as long as you heat it gently – adding a little cornflour, which can help to prevent it from separating.
  • The best crème fraîche comes from a strictly controlled area of Normandy called Isigny-sur-Mer and it’s sold in larger supermarkets in the UK.
• 2 tablespoons Tomato paste

  Tomato paste

  Concentrate made from paste type tomatoes that have high pectin content.

  When they’re cooked down, they’re put through a strainer to remove skins and seeds, and reduced further until almost all of the moisture has evaporated. Usually a recipe will call for a tablespoon or two, just enough to enrich a beef stew, for instance, or to deepen the flavour of a sauce made with fresh tomatoes.

• Black peppercorns

  Black peppercorns

  Best used as a condiment.

  They can be lightly crushed and used to spice up a creamy sauce or to coat fillet steak or chicken breasts.

  • Although it might seem odd, grinding black pepper over a bowl of strawberries enhances the flavour of the fruit.
  • Pepper that is pre-ground is not fresh tasting and often has other ingredients mixed in.
  • Choose the type of mill that suits you, and if you want coarser pepper you can loosen the screw on the top of the mill or crush the seeds in a pestle and mortar
• Salt

  Salt

  Consider tablesalt, sea salt or crystals.

  Sea salt’s pronounced and salty flavour means less is required to season food.

• 2 tablespoons Olive oil

  Olive oil

  Usually the darker green the oil, the richer the flavour.

  • Extra virgin olive oil is good for drizzling on salads and should never be heated as this destroys the fine properties
  • Lighter olive oil is good for adding to bread, or to flavour a salad or marinade for chicken, meat, fish or vegetables. Lighter olive oil can be gently heated and added to marinades and baking.
• 1 teaspoon Balsamic vinegar

  Balsamic vinegar

  Perfect for salad dressings and italian dishes

  • A teaspoon or two of balsamic vinegar can wake up the flavour in a bland soup, stew or sauce.
  • A sprinkle of balsamic vinegar on fresh sliced strawberries or raspberries with a bit of sugar really brings out the flavour of the fruit.
  • Heat sweetens balsamic vinegar and boils out acidity. If you want to mellow the flavour, heat it.