Soup’s On!

In 1765, a Parisian named Boulanger began advertising that he served soups, which he called restaurants. (Literally, the word means fortifying.)

Today soups can be divided into three basic categories:

1. Clear soups like broth, vegetable soup, and consommé

2. Thick soups like cream soups, purees, bisques, chowders, and potages

3. Specialty soups, which are soups that don’t fit easily into the other categories or are soups from a particular region.

One of my favorite soups is a delicate blend of tomatoes and basil. Did you know Italy was the first to embrace and cultivate the tomato outside South America? In 1897, soup mogul Joseph Campbell came out with condensed tomato soup, further endearing the tomato to the general public.

Tomato and Basil soup

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds vine-ripened tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

• 2 cups chicken stock

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt (never use iodized salt when cooking, it masks food's true flavor)

• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• 2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, chiffonaded (cut into thin strips)

Directions:

• Heat olive oil in a heavy sauce pan over moderate heat. Add garlic, and sweat until soft, but do not brown.

• Add tomatoes and chicken broth.

• Bring to a boil and simmer for twenty minutes.

• Blend the soup until smooth.

• Garnish with a chiffonade of basil and serve.

The beauty of this soup is it can be served either warm or chilled. This versatility guarantees you will always have soup on hand, and if you add some coarsely cut veggies from the garden to this soup, you have just transformed it into a hearty gazpacho!