Tomato And Courgette Soup

We went through a stage of growing our own tomatoes. It was something we enjoyed a lot, but eventually we replaced the green house with a pretty courtyard with a fountain. But while we did grow our tomatoes we ended up with a bumper crop every year and needed to use them. I have not made this recipe for a while, but I remember making it regularly with our home-grown tomatoes. It is very tasty and has very few calories (if that matters to you) – perfect for summer time!

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs tomatoes, seeded and diced
4 small courgettes, grated
1 tsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed/grated
1 tbsp chopped basil
1 pint vegetable stock

METHOD

Cook the tomatoes and garlic gently in olive oil for around ten minutes until softened.

Add the basil and stock, and then season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for five minutes and then remove from heat.

Depending on which equipment you use, you may need to allow the tomatoes and stock to cool a little before mixing. Blend until smooth.

To serve, reheat, adding the grated courgettes and simmering for one minute.

If you are thinking of freezing this soup, I would suggest freezing the tomato broth, without the grated courgettes. Add the courgettes freshly grated.