Zach Cookz

A vibrant medley of flavor that ignites the palate and warms the soul, this soup invites you on a journey of bold tastes from the essence of ripe tomatoes, fiery red pepper, and basil oil.

Ingredients

• 3 Pounds of Plum (Roma) Tomatoes
• 0.5 Sweet Onion, Diced
• 6 Garlic Cloves, Chopped
• 2 Bay Leaves (Fresh)
• 1 Tbsp Thyme (Fresh)
• 0.5 Red Chili, Deseeded and finely diced
• 1 Red Pepper, Deseeded and diced
• 1.5oz Basil
• Vegetable Stock
• Olive Oil
• Salt & Pepper

Recipe

Basil Oil

• 1 oz Basil
• 1 cup Olive Oil

To make the basil oil, start by placing basil leaves and olive oil into a saucepan and heat to 175°F. Pour into a blender, blend for 1–2 minutes then pass through a fine sieve.

The oil can be used straight from the blender, or for a clear green oil pass again through a double layer of muslin cloth or a coffee filter overnight in the fridge.

Soup

• 2 Pounds of Plum (Roma) Tomatoes
• Salt & Pepper

Start by dehydrating 2 pounds of tomatoes by quartering them, seasoning with salt and pepper, place them on a baking sheet and cook at 175°F in a fan-assisted oven (205°F for conventional oven) for 4 hours.

• 0.5 Sweet Onion, Diced
• 6 Garlic Cloves, Chopped
• Olive Oil
• Salt & Pepper

Once the tomatoes are dehydrated, drain off any excess liquid on the pan and start the soup! First, sauté the diced onions and garlic in the olive oil with a pinch of salt until just translucent. Make sure the onions do not color in the pan.

• 2 Bay Leaves (Fresh)
• 1 Tbsp Thyme (Fresh)
• 0.5 Red Chili, Deseeded and finely diced
• 1 Red Pepper, Deseeded and diced
• 0.5oz Basil

Add the bay leaf, thyme and chili, cook for a further 3 minutes then add the peppers, basil, and dehydrated tomatoes.

Cook in the pan for an hour, stirring from time to time and adding vegetable stock to make sure it doesn’t dry out. You need enough liquid to simmer nicely, as the idea is to soften the ingredients in the pan and really concentrate the final flavors.

While the soup is simmering, make a tomato concasse.

Make a shallow ‘X’ cut at the end of the tomato, and lower gently into boiling water. After about 15-20 seconds (as soon as the skin starts to come away) remove the tomatoes and plunge directly into ice water.

Strain the tomatoes and remove the skin before cutting the tomatoes into quarters lengthways. Remove the seeds and dice, season with a little salt and pepper and set aside to use as garnish.

When the simmer phase is complete transfer the soup to high-powered blender and blitz until super smooth, adjusting the consistency with a little extra vegetable stock and seasoning to taste if required. Pass through a fine strainer into a new saucepan to reheat.

To serve, pour soup into each bowl and garnish with the concasse, basil oil, fresh black pepper, and basil leaves!