Summer tomato soup with pesto sables
2 onions
2 cloves garlic
1kg tomatoes
50g butter
4 cups chicken stock
2 medium potatoes
1 teaspoon dried basil
½ teaspoon iodised salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon sugar
1 courgette
Basil leaves
Peel onions and chop finely. Crush garlic, peel and chop finely. Place tomatoes in a large bowl. Pour over boiling water and leave for 10 minutes. Drain. Peel off skins. Cut tomatoes in half and chop roughly. Heat butter in a saucepan. Add onion and garlic and cook for one to two minutes, stirring often. Add chicken stock and slowly bring to the boil. Peel potatoes and cut into cubes. Add to tomato mixture with basil, salt, pepper, tomato paste and sugar. Simmer until vegetables are cooked. Mash soup with a potato masher. Wash courgette. Peel long thin shards from courgettes and cut each shard into thin spaghetti-like slices. Serve soup with courgette, basil leaves and pesto sables.
Pesto Sables
2 sheets savoury pastry
¼ cup basil pesto
Spread each pastry sheet with two tablespoons pesto and roll up as for a sponge roll. Cut on the diagonal into 2cm-thick slices. Place on a baking paper-lined baking tray. Bake at 180 degrees C for 15 minutes or until golden and cooked.
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