Heirloom Tomato Soup a la Provençal

My farmer friend, Bill, brought me about 20 pounds of heirloom tomatoes yesterday. He has an interesting organic farm nearby. 'Make what you can,' he says. This has a wonderful depth of flavour.

I chose the box of yellow tomatoes for this recipe and it is lovely.  I have large red ones called Flin Flons and some small red tomatoes and a few Romas.



This recipe is adapted from one I found in Gourmet 2006.















Heirloom Tomato Soup a la Provençal

    4
lb tomatoes

    1
medium onion, halved lengthwise, then thinly sliced crosswise (2 cups)

    1 large carrot, coarsely grated

    1
celery rib, finely chopped

    2
large garlic cloves, finely chopped

    3
(3- by 1-inch) strips fresh orange zest, finely chopped

    1
teaspoon dried thyme

   
1/4 teaspoon dried hot red-pepper flakes

   
1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds

    2 bay leaves

    2 tablespoons lovage, roughly chopped

    3
tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

    2
cups water

    2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (14 fl oz)

   
3/4 teaspoon salt

   
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

   
Pinch crumbled saffron threads

    1
to 2 teaspoons sugar

   
1/4 cup wild rice

Cut a shallow X in bottom of each tomato with a sharp paring
knife. Blanch tomatoes in batches of 2 or 3 in a 5- to 6-quart pot of boiling
water 10 seconds, transferring with a slotted spoon to a bowl of ice and cold
water to stop cooking.

Peel tomatoes, then halve crosswise. Squeeze halves gently,
cut sides down, over a sieve set over a bowl to extract seeds and juices, then
press on seeds and discard them. Reserve juice and tomatoes.

Cook onions, carrot, celery, garlic, zest, thyme, red-pepper
flakes, fennel seeds, and bay leaf in oil in a 3-quart heavy saucepan
over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, about
5 minutes.

Add tomatoes with reserved juice, water,
chicken broth, salt, pepper, saffron, wild rice and 1 teaspoon sugar, then simmer,
uncovered, stirring and breaking up tomatoes with a spoon occasionally, until rice is cooked, 40
minutes. Discard bay leaf and add sugar and salt to
taste.