Recipe: Chilled (or hot) Cream of Tomato Soup (Italian)

HOT OR CHILLED CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP
"Jessie can't remember a time when she didn't love tomatoes because, to her, tomatoes Meant her Italian grandmother's chilled cream of tomato soup. "We Italians make more than pasta," she reminds us, "because we know our tomatoes." This soup is best made in the summer when tomatoes are at their peak of flavor."

2 pounds very ripe beefsteak or plum tomatoes, rubbed with olive oil and halved
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small carrot, chopped
1 small bulb of fennel, chopped (optional)
2 cups chicken stock
6 sprigs each fresh parsley and tarragon, tied together with string
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 cup buttermilk
fresh chopped dill, for garnish

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Place tomatoes on greased baking pan and bake 30 minutes, turning tomatoes every 10 minutes until skins blister and blacken. Allow to cool, peel and discard skins, reserving pulp and juice.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan and saute onion, carrot, and fennel, if using, on low heat until very soft, 5 to 6 minutes. Add stock and herb bundle; simmer 30 minutes.

Remove herb bundle, add tomato pulp and juices. Allow soup to cool and puree in ood processor. Add salt, pepper, and buttermilk.

Serve well chilled, sprinkled with fresh dill.

VARIATION:
To serve hot: Replace the buttermilk with an equal amount of half-and-half.

Makes 6 servings
Used by permission to Recipelink.com from Simon & Schuster
Source: Just Like Grandma Used To Make by Lois Wyse, Sheri Zitron Pincus, Liza Antelo