Tomato Anise Soup
By: Shirl Smith
Published: Thursday, December 17, 2009 - 4:42am

Ingredients




Ingredients

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 sticks of celery (including leaves), chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
900 g/2lb tomatoes, peeled and chopped
960 ounces ml/32fl  fresh vegetable stock
6 whole star anise
1 tablespoon level  freshly chopped parsley

Preparation

1 Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the onion and saute over a medium heat, stirring from time t time, for 6-8 minutes until soft and transparent. 2 Add the celery and carrot and continue to cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the vegetables begin to brown. 3 Add the tomatoes together with their juice, stock, whole star anises and parsley, mix well and bring to almost boiling point. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 40 minutes. 4 Remove the star anise, allow to cool a little then transfer to a liquidiser and process until smooth. 5 Return to the rinsed out saucepan and re-heat. Serve hot.

About


Contains star anise. This evergreen grows as a bush or small tree and is native to China. The star-shaped fruit contains an essential oil with very similar properties and uses as those of anise oil.
There is some discussion at this time as to whether Star Anise can help with colds and flu (its an ingredient in Tamiflu)