Smoked tomato and basil soup

Name: Smoked tomato and basil soup
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 500 g plum tomatoes; 450 g vine tomatoes; 200 g celery; 250 g baby plum tomatoes; 100 g tomato puree; 2 carrots (250 g); 100 g white part of leek; 1 red chilli (optional); 1 onion (300 g); 6 garlic cloves; 1 tsp balsamic vinegar; Dried oregano; Half a cup of fresh basil; 100 g fennel (optional); Salt; 1 tbsp paprika; Pepper; 6 bay leaves; 1 tsp sugar

Fittest Chef @fittestchef

Belfast

Its good to come back to basics. Sometimes basic dishes like tomato and basil soup are hard to get right. I tried to give it another depth and I smoked all the ingridients on my gas bbq using a smoking box. It worked. I ended up with about 6 portions of soup so Im gonna use next few days as a base for different dishes.

Fittest Chef @fittestchef

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Ingredients

6 servings

500 gplum tomatoes
450 gvine tomatoes
200 gcelery
250 gbaby plum tomatoes
100 gtomato puree
2carrots (250 g)
100 gwhite part of leek
1red chilli (optional)
1onion (300 g)
6garlic cloves
1 tspbalsamic vinegar
Dried oregano
Halfa cup of fresh basil
100 gfennel (optional)
Salt
1 tbsppaprika
Pepper
6bay leaves
1 tspsugar

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Steps

1

Preheat your bbq and insert smoking box with wooden chips on flavour bar. Prep and wash all the ingredients. In a large skillet (I used dutch oven) start searing onions, celery, garlic and fennel. After few minutes add rest of ingredients. Close the bbq and start smoking. I ve done mine for about an hour.
2

After an hour cover vegetables with water. Add bay leaves, oregano and simmer for another hour
3

After that time add some more water if its needed. Add basil and cook it for another 10 min. Blitz it. Pass it thru the sieve. Add tomato puree. Whisk. Check seasoning. I always use nutmeg and a touch of sugar to get the perfect taste.
4

Recipe can be adjusted to house environment. Vegetables can be roasted in the oven for 20 min in 180 °C. Then all can be transfered to the pot and cooked on the stove.