Sunday 20 June 2010

Roasted Tomato and Thyme Soup with Twice Baked Potatoes

For my birthday, I received some fabulous foodie gifts. So much so, I thought I would make a mini-series as I revealed each one and made something using each one. So, today is the day I start!

Gift: Sophie Dahl’s book “Miss Dahl’s Voluptuous Delights”

Recipe: Roasted Tomato and Thyme Soup with Twice Baked PotatoesDSCF7211Now strictly speaking, these recipes aren’t in the book. Which is a travesty because they were in the TV series that accompanied the book and are both fabulous dishes! The book, like you might expect from a former model, is beautifully laid out, full of pretty pictures and glamorous stories but most importantly to me – good food! DSCF7217Like this deep, rich, hearty-yet-summery, velvety soup. My sister and I have been meaning to make this soup for ages and today regretted waiting so long as it filled the house with the best smell of slowly roasting tomatoes. Sophie Dahl’s recipe is super easy because it cuts down on any fussy chopping, peeling, boiling etc. Everything is just halved and put in a roasting tin, left to cook in the oven and release all their gorgeous juices, then whizzed up in a blender and enjoyed. That was the basic plan, but this leaves a very thick soup – more like a tomato puree or sauce for pasta. After years of extremely smooth Heinz tomato soup, I do look for a smoother soup so after a quick boil and slosh of cream the soup was perfect. And all made by my sister who originally found the recipe. So on to the side dish, made by me…DSCF7213Twice Baked Potatoes. Which essentially means you bake potatoes, cut them in half, scoop out all potatoey goodness and then mix with cheese, chives, and a dollop of yoghurt, replace in the potato and bake for a tiny bit more to crisp up the top. Gorgeous and quite filling by themselves, let alone with a big bowl of soup! These are something I would like to repeat because they make a refreshing change to ordinary jackets and could make good use of odds and ends from the fridge. DSCF7220Individually – delicious. Together, curled up in front of the Doctor Who finale as it rains in the middle of June – perfect. Find the recipe and video of Sophie Dahl making both recipes here, and I do also recommend the charming book! More recipes from that and other birthday gifts to come soon :) 

6 comments:

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

A wonderful soup and gorgeous potatoes! What an awesome pairing!

Cheers,

Rosa

Anonymous said...

i love sophie dahl, her cook book is one of my favoutites and i loved the tv series she did on bbc! actually a friend of mine made this soup for me a few days ago... haven't made it yet myself, can't wait though - yours looks delicious!

Faith said...

Your mini series sounds like a great idea, and this is a fantastic way to start! The tomato soup looks so fresh and the potatoes are perfect with it!

Anonymous said...

I love tomato soup but I've never made it with roasted tomatoes. It must have more depth of flavor and sophistication. Bookmarked for sure!

WendyinKK said...

Oh, you're so young but so talented, with such passion.
It's good, and it seems that a lot of the younger generation nowadays have no interest to get their hands dirty in the kitchen.
Keep up the good work and let the passion burn in you.

George@CulinaryTravels said...

Your soup and potatoes look much better than Sophie's did. I wasn't very keen on her TV prog.