My Market Year(s)

Instructions

1. First prep the tomatoes. This is fussy and messy. It is easier if you have a food mill. If you have a Food Mill
   1. Cut Roma (paste) tomatoes into quarters length-wise. Use your fingers to strip the seeds out and into a strainer over a bowl (we will get the juice off them and use it in the soup but we don’t want seeds in the soup).
   2. Cut field tomatoes in half across their middles and then in half length wise. Use your fingers to get the seeds out and into the strainer. It is okay to break the tomato open while doing this.
   3. Chop the tomato flesh into chunks and process in your food mill to get the skins off. You will end up with a big bowl of tomato pulp (see my picture below).
2. If you don’t have a food mill:
   1. Make a small “x” in the bottom of each tomato.
   2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and prep an ice bath in your sink.
   3. Drop the tomatoes in the boiling water in small batches an cook until the skins start to split. Move them to the ice bath to cool.
   4. Once they have all been par-boiled, peel the skins off and proceed by seeding and chopping as above.
3. One note: If you have a food mill, you can buy the “scratch-and-dent” tomatoes. If you don’t, imperfections in the skin make it harder to peel the tomatoes.
4. Use your fingers to push the juice off the seeds and into the bowl.  Keep working the seeds until they form a slick mass and mose of the juice is removed.  Throw away the seeds or dry them for your garden next year. Transfer the juice to a sauce pan and boil over medium high heat until it is reduced to a quarter of the original volume (about 15 to 20 minutes). It will suddenly smell and look a lot like Cambell’s Tomato Soup (see the pictures below).
5. Heat the olive oil and butter in a large stock pot or dutch oven over medium heat until the butter stops foaming.
6. Add the onions and a good pinch of kosher salt and cook, stirring frequently, until translucent and just starting to turn light golden brown (about 15 minutes). Do not brown.
7. Add the red peppers and stir. Cook until the peppers are soft and the onions a deeper golden brown (about 10 more minutes).
8. Add the garlic, lemon zest, a really healthy grind of fresh black pepper and a large stalk of basil (you will remove the basil at the end of cooking). Stir and cook for 1 minute and everything smells wonderful.
9. Turn the heat up to high and add the Marsala. Cook stirring frequently until the Marsala is reduce to one quarter of its initial volume.
10. Add the tomato pulp and the reduced seed juice to the pot, cover and bring to a simmer. Once it comes to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium and keep at a simmer. Simmer for 90 minutes to 2 hours or until it is thick and no longer tastes raw. The color will darken and it will be reduced by about 1/3. Stir occasionally to prevent scorching.
11. You can taste the soup along the way. It will be light on salt and pepper and basil but you will boost those flavors at the end. Scoop up a some soup in a soup spoon and add a few grains of salt to get a taste as it goes along.
12. Once the soup is reduce by a quarter to a third, fish out the basil sprig and use an emersion blender to puree the soup (or use a food processor or blender). If you use an emersion blender, don’t wear white or anything you don’t want soup on. We call our emersion blender “the flinger”. You are warned.
13. Add the 2 tablespoons of finely minced basil, more black pepper and adjust the salt. Let the soup simmer gently for 10 minutes to balance the flavors then remove from the heat. Let cool for 10 minutes then whisk in the 1/2 Cup of Sour Cream.
14. Taste and adjust seasonings one last time. Sometimes I add lemon juice now or a little sugar. It depends on the tomatoes.
15. To serve: ladle into bowls, add a dollop of sour cream and some the basil chiffonade. Add a touch of coarsely ground black pepper and serve.