Ina Garten-Inspired Tomato Soup With Basil

Compiled by Igor Kukolj, Editor. Nobody here has cooked this — how these are made.

Tomato soup made by simmering tomatoes tastes like tomatoes in hot water. There is a step before the pot.

Roast the tomatoes at high heat first. Two things happen that a simmer cannot do: water evaporates, so what remains is concentrated rather than diluted, and the sugars and amino acids on the cut surfaces brown. That browning is where the depth in a good tomato soup comes from, and there is no way to add it later.

Forty minutes at 220°C. The tin will look burnt in places. Those are the best bits — scrape them in.

Basil goes in off the heat

The aroma of basil comes from volatile oils that break down in under a minute at simmering temperature, leaving a flat, hay-like taste. Every recipe that has you boil basil into a soup is throwing it away. Blend it in at the end, with the pot off the stove.

A pinch of sugar is not for sweetness

Tomatoes are acidic, and acid reads as sharpness. A teaspoon of sugar in a large pot does not make the soup sweet — it lowers the perceived sharpness so the tomato flavour comes forward. If your soup tastes thin and aggressive, this is usually what it needs, not more salt.

Blend it hot, but not sealed

Hot liquid expands violently in a closed jug. Fill a blender no more than half way, take the centre cap out of the lid, and cover the hole with a folded towel. A stick blender in the pot avoids the problem altogether.

Storing

Five days in the fridge, three months frozen — freeze it before adding cream, which can split on thawing. The basil fades after a day; a few fresh leaves blended in on reheating brings it back.