Simple Chilled Tomato and Cucumber Soup

Come the Sydney summer, come the super ripe and deliciously sweet tomatoes. Tomatoes are a staple in my summer vegetable garden and I try to have as many different varieties growing in my backyard as possible. To grow, tend, pick and eat a tomato from your back yard is one of the simplest yet most rewarding experiences in life. The flavour is something that cannot be replicated in store brought fruit. Just remember though that growing vegetables, although rewarding, is hard work. As I live on a sandy loam I spend a lot of time building up soil structure though composting and topdressing with organic mulches, mushroom compost, chicken manure and the like. The flavour of the end product comes down to the soil it was grown in, it’s that simple.

Over the years I have grown many heirloom tomatoes including Amish Paste, Mortgage lifter, Tigerella, Silver Fir and Jaune Flamme to name a few, all with varying degrees of success.  This year I have planted Black Russian, Napoli, Green Zebra (a gift from the neighbours) as well as the Australian staple Grosse Lisse and the Italian variaties of Costoluto Genovese and San Marzano. The later two are excellent for sauces, passata and cooking with whilst all the rest are best used fresh in salads or just as they are.

At the end of the season I save a few of each tomato, washing and drying the seeds for the next season. If this proves difficult then fresh seed can always be purchased from www.theitaliangardener.com.au or www.diggers.com.au

I understand that chilled soups aren't everyone's cup of tea, but I serve this dish regularly and usually manage to convert more than a few to its silky charms.  It make a fabulous starter on a stinking hot Sydney Summers day.  Its cool, slippery, unctuous  of sorts and both sweet and acidic at the same time.  A great little plant based starter that is so simple to make. My hand written recipe appears in the below photo, I don't give exact quantities as this is recipe that you should make to suit your own tastes.  Add as much or as little as you like just remember the following simple rules.

Use juicy, ripe and sweet tomatoes, they can be red, yellow or striped as long as they are ripe and sweet.  Unripe tomatoes will make the texture of the finished soup grainy and the flavor a little sour.  Wash, remove the cores of the tomatoes and the skins of the cucumbers.  The cores and skins are no good for the texture and gives a bitterness,  washing removes surface dirt which also is not great for flavour or texture.  Also as the soup is uncooked washing and drying the vegetables improves the hygiene and the storage life of the finished product.  

Use a high speed blender and really puree the ingredients, once pureed force the mixture though a fine mesh sieve. This give a wonderfully smooth mouth feel with no bits that can get stuck in the teeth.  Finally season with the best quality salt (I use Malden Sea Salt flakes), pepper, red wine vinegar (Simon Johnson's red wine vinegar is a great standby) and olive oil that you can afford.  Use the Olive oil that you enjoy the taste of, I like Joseph First Run just for the flavour.  Add as much or as little as your taste buds like.  Lastly Serve it really cold in little shooters and enjoy!