Souping Green Tomatoes
By: Nic @ Nipitinthebud
Published: Sunday, February 28, 2010 - 9:23am

Ingredients




12 green tomatoes, chopped
3 carrots, grated
2 smalls onions or 1 large onion, chopped
1 bulb of garlic, crushed (or about 4 cloves)
1 chilli pepper, de-seeded but kept whole to be removed before blending
2 teaspoons heaped  of coriander powder
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 mug of vegetable stock
6 frozen cubes of coconut milk (= to 2 tablespoons?)
oil for frying onion and tomatoes
inch creme fraiche (optional to stir  at the end)

Preparation

1 Gently sautee the onion and garlic in a little oil before adding the chopped tomatoes.  Continue to fry gently to soften the tomatoes before adding the grated carrot, cumin seeds and coriander powder.  Stir all ingredients together in the pan for a few minutes before adding the vegetable stock. 2 De-seed the chilli, add whole to the saucepan and simmer until carrot has softened to your liking.  Remove the chilli and add the coconut milk. 3 Whizz all the ingredients together in the pan using a hand blender (add a drop of milk or water if you prefer your soup thinner) 4 Ladle the soup into bowls and top with a swirl of creme fraiche and a sprinkling of cumin seeds. 5 Serve with toasted pitta bread for dipping.

About


I’d been reading the fabulous Scottish food blog 'Tinned Tomatoes' for quite some time; watching from the wings as the ‘No Croutons Required‘ soup challenge came and went each month.  I finally stepped out of the shadows in October 2009 to create a ‘frugal‘ soup or salad inspired by store cupboard favourites, leftovers or vegetables plucked from the garden.  Returning from a chilly morning at the allotment I created a nourishing soup that would warm me up, boost my immunity and most importantly fill me up.  
A brief rummage through the fridge and freezer resulted in these ingredients … 
GREEN TOMATOES – not enough to make chutney and a bit tired of all that stirring and bottling now anyway!
CARROT -  the last chunk of my ‘bargain of the month‘ carrot – bought from the Farmer’s Market for 20p and the size of wine bottle!.  It wasn’t at all woody but I grated it to reduce the cooking time and retain the vitamin content.
GARLIC – sprouting and begging to be used.  I didn’t realise when I bought this garlic that they were single whole bulbs, rather than cloves.  As it cooked up it was stingingly strong but once the other spices and the coconut milk were added the dominance of the garlic mellowed.  It was probably equivalent to about 4 cloves.
CHILLI – added with the carrot, simmered and then removed before blending.  It added a nice kick that would have knocked me sideways if I’d left it in being a bit of a lightweight in the chilli department.  These chillis of Dave’s are really hot as I discovered when nibbling the end of the grated carrot and getting tingly lips from my chilli hands!
COCONUT MILK - leftover from a curry I made a few weeks ago and frozen.  You can guess why I added it.
CREME FRAICHE - the dregs of a pot soon to be out of date to make it a little creamier.  If left out this soup is suitable for vegans.
pitta bread – toasted and torn in pieces for dipping (fresh, cough, from the freezer!).
(my soupy creation won the October 2009 'No Croutons Required' frugal challenge)