Farmer s Fresh Tomato Soup

Recipe Cuisine: Italian
Recipe Category: Italian
Recipe Serves: 6

Recipes Ingredients:

1/4 c + 2 tb extra-virgin olive
3 Pieces day-old Italian
-oil
-bread, crusts removed
2 md Onions, coarsely chopped
4 c Hot Meat broth
3 Cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c Fresh basil leaves, torn in
2 Ribs celery, coarsely
-strips
-chopped 2
tb Chopped fresh parsley
3 lb Plum tomatoes, washed,
2 tb Chopped fresh marjoram
-stemmed, coarsely chopped 6
sm Fresh marjoram sprigs for
Salt
-garnish
1 pn Sugar (Optional)

Recipe Instructions:

Heat the oil, onions, Garlic and celery in a Soup pot over medium- low heat, stirring occasionally, until golden (about 20 minutes). Add the tomatoes and salt; cook, partially covered, until the tomatoes are softened, about 20 minutes. If necessary, add a pinch of Sugar to balance the acidity of the tomatoes. Put the Bread in a small bowl and add 1 cup of Hot broth to soften. Mash the Bread well with a wooden spoon. Add the softened Bread and remaining broth to the tomatoes, stirring well to completely dissolve the bread. Simmer for about 30 minutes. Add the herbs during the last 5 minutes of cooking. Pass the Soup through the fine blade of a food mill or puree in a food processor and strain. Put the Soup back in the Soup pot and correct the seasoning. Simmer for 10 minutes. Ladle into heated Soup bowls and pour 1 teaspoon of olive oil over each serving. Garnish with sprigs of fresh marjoram. Serves 6 to 8. [ "We Called It Macaroni"; Nancy Verde Barr; Knopf; ISBN 0-394-55798-0 ] Posted by Fred Peters.