Dragon’s blood
This smooth and vibrant red tomato soup enjoyed with tasty pesto crostini is a foolproof lunch, ideal for Halloween
SERVES
6
PEOPLE
PREP TIME
10
MINUTES
COOKING TIME
15
MINUTES
Ingredients
2 tins of tomatoes, liquidised and sieved
1 small onion, finely chopped
15g butter
250ml homemade chicken stock or vegetable stock
salt
freshly ground pepper
sugar
120ml cream
pesto
6 crostini made from 5mm thick slices of thin French bread, cooked in olive oil until crisp and pale golden
For the Bechamel sauce (250ml needed):
300ml milk
a few slices of carrot
a few slices onion
small sprig of thyme
small sprig of parsley
3 peppercorns
45g roux
salt
freshly ground pepper
Method
To make the Bechamel sauce, put the cold milk into a saucepan with the carrot, onion, peppercorns, thyme and parsley. Bring to the boil, simmer for four to five minutes, and remove from the heat and leave to infuse for ten minutes. Strain out the vegetables, bring the milk back to the boil and thicken to a light coating consistency by whisking in roux. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper, taste and correct the seasoning if necessary.
Sweat the onion in the butter on a gentle heat until soft, not coloured.
Add chopped tinned tomatoes plus juice, white sauce and homemade chicken stock. Season with salt, freshly ground pepper and sugar.
Bring to the boil and simmer for a few minutes. Liquidise, taste, dilute further if necessary. Bring back to the boil, correct seasoning add a little cream if necessary.
Put a little blob of pesto on 6 freshly cooked crostini and drop one into each serving.
Note: this soup needs to be tasted carefully as the final result depends on the quality of the tomato purée, stock, etc.
