Heirloom Tomato Bisque with Green Pea Pesto

What to do with all those gorgeous homegrown tomatoes? A traditional bisque adds shellfish and a roux. This version is vegetarian and gluten-free as it is thickened with vanilla-caramelized onions rather than a flour-based roux.

Photo by Manja Wachsmuth, Vanilla Table

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the Bisque:
12 medium (2 lb) fresh tomatoes (28 oz canned whole tomatoes)
2 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp fine sea salt
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 vanilla pod, split and scraped
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 bay leaf, bruised
1.5 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 Tbsp fresh cracked pepper
3 Tbsp, or to taste, fresh lemon juice
Sea salt flakes to taste
½ cup cream or crème fraiche or Greek yogurt

For the Green Pea Pesto:
1 cup fresh or frozen green peas
1 garlic clove, chopped
5 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp basil leaves, chopped
2 tsp, or to taste, fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese
Sea salt and cracked pepper to taste
¼ cup crème fraiche to serve, if wished

Directions

1. If using fresh tomatoes - preheat the oven to 375°F.  Line a baking tray with lightly greased foil, then place halved tomatoes cut-side up on sheet.  Sprinkle with sugar and salt and roast for 40 minutes, until bubbly and lightly browned on top.

2. Melt the butter in a large sauce pan with vanilla seeds and pod.  Add onion and cook until translucent.  Add garlic, bay leaf and stock.  Add roasted tomatoes (or canned) and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes (or 30 minutes for canned tomatoes).

3. Add pepper and season to taste with lemon juice and salt.  Simmer an additional 5 minutes then remove vanilla pod and discard.

4. Puree liquid with a hand blender or food mill until smooth.  Gently whisk in cream, yogurt or crème fraiche.

For Green pea pesto:  

1. Simmer peas in salted water for 2 minutes.  Drain well then pour into a food processor bowl with the S blade.  Add garlic, oil, basil and lemon juice.  Whizz to a fine puree then add Parmesan with salt and pepper to taste.

2. Set aside or chill until ready to serve.

To Serve:

Top the bisque with green pea pesto and crème fraiche (if wished) and serve immediately with warm buttered toast.  May be refrigerated and reheated next day, or you can also serve this bisque cold.

Country Onion Mushroom Soup

This is a quick and simple, thick, potage-style soup that I created as executive chef of Bridge Street restaurant in Bigfork, Montana, owned by the award-winning Chateau Montelena Winery in Napa, California. The restaurant was surrounded by a lovely herb and veggie garden, where I grew the horseradish used in this dish. When the time came to make it, the entire kitchen crew would back away as this fresh spice is odourless when uprooted, but once you break the skin, the smell is pungent! The volatile oil it contains is a powerful natural antibiotic but it can make you swoon and your eyes fill with tears!

Photo by Manja Wachsmuth, Spice Health Heroes

Serves 2-4

Ingredients

1 head garlic   
1 tbsp olive oil   
1 tbsp grapeseed oil   
250g (9oz.) mushrooms   
1/8 tsp (large pinch) nutmeg   
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves   
125g (4 ½oz./ ½ cup) Turmeric Melted Onions (see below) 
garlic bread, to serve (optional)
50ml (scant ¼ cup) port
475ml (2 cups) vegetable stock
200g (7oz./1 cup) mashed potato
1–2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp pure horseradish, fresh or from a jar, to taste
⅛ tsp freshly grated nutmeg, to garnish

Directions

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/gas mark 4). Cut the top off the garlic head to expose the cloves, then peel away just the outer layers of the garlic-bulb skin, leaving the skins of the individual cloves. Wrap loosely in foil and drizzle a tablespoon of oil over the garlic. Close the foil at the top, place on a baking tray and roast in the oven for about 30–35 minutes until soft and golden brown.

While the garlic is roasting, make the Turmeric Melted Onions (see below.)

Heat the grapeseed oil and sauté the mushrooms with the nutmeg and thyme leaves in a 2-litre (2-quart) pot until almost dry over medium heat, about 5 minutes.

Reduce the heat to low, add the Turmeric Melted Onions and half the roasted garlic (keep the other half for other use; it will keep for about 2 weeks refrigerated) and mix well. Add the port and reduce for 2 minutes or so. Add the stock and simmer for 3–5 minutes.

Stir in the mashed potato, lemon juice and horseradish and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve warmed in big bowls, topped with a sprinkle of freshly grated nutmeg, accompanied by your favourite garlic bread, if wished.

Turmeric Melted Onions

Ingredients

Makes 2 Cups

50g (1 ¾oz./½ stick) butter
60ml (¼ cup) grapeseed or vegetable oil
1 tsp ground turmeric
4 medium brown onions (450g/1 lb.), halved and thinly sliced
10 grinds black pepper (optional)

Directions

Heat the oil and melt the butter in a pan over medium–high heat, stir in the turmeric and cook for 1 minute. (Adding turmeric to the sizzling oil intensifies the flavour and nutrients; the pepper adds even more goodness.)

Add the onions and when they begin to let off steam, turn the heat down to medium–low and cook for 20–30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until translucent, melted and light-yellow-brown in colour.

Add the pepper and stir for a few minutes.

Remove from heat, cool, then cover and chill until needed.