This tomato soup recipe includes port to make a great tasting tomato and port soup.  When looking at recipes for soup, this homemade tomato soup tastes fantastic.

Ingredients – Serves 4

• 80g unsalted butter or margarine
• 80g plain flour
• 30g sugar
• 4 medium-sized tomatoes
• 10g parsley stalks
• 2 fresh bay leaves
• 80g streaky bacon
• 80g carrots
• 100g tomato purée
• 80g onion
• Approx 1.6lt vegetable stock
• 80g port
• 200g double cream
• 60g croutons (for garnish)
• Small fresh basil leaves (for garnish)
• Salt and milled black pepper to taste

Getting everything ready

1. Make the vegetable stock.
2. Wash, peel and chop carrots into ½” dice.  Peel and chop the onion into ½” dice.
3. Cut the bacon into ½” dices.
4. Cut the croutons and fry in shallow oil.  Drain on kitchen paper and leave for the garnish.
5. Wash the basil leaves, dry and put aside for the garnish.
6. Blanch the tomatoes.  Peel and deseed.  Slice the flesh into fine julienne for garnish.  Put the skins in the vegetable stock.

Method

1. Pour the stock into a saucepan, add the parsley stalks and bay leaves, bring to the boil and allow to simmer gently.
2. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over a medium heat, add the carrots, onion and bacon and sweat for about 5 minutes without colour.
3. Stir in the flour to make a roux.  Cook for a further 2 minutes, remove from the heat and add the tomato purée and stir in well.
4. Return to the heat and slowly add the simmering stock until all the stock has been absorbed, stirring all the time.
5. Add the sugar and season to taste. (Be careful with the salt because of the bacon, which can be a little salty sometimes).  Simmer on a low heat for 45 minutes.
6. Pass the tomato soup through a fine strainer into a clean saucepan.  Check the seasoning and consistency.  Bring the tomato soup to a gentle heat and add the port and cream (save a little cream for garnish).  Simmer for a further 2 minutes.
7. Ladle the tomato soup into warmed soup bowls, add the julienne of tomatoes to each bowl, drizzle over a little cream and garnish each bowl with a few fresh basil leaves.  Serve with a small bowl of croutons.

Tomato soup – hints and tips

Leave out the bacon for a vegetarian tomato soup option.

For a more Mediterranean option, drizzle over the tomato soup with a little extra virgin olive oil rather than cream.

Other delicious soup recipes