Fresh Cream of Tomato Soup

This is a recipe I make each summer, when tomatoes are at their peak--vine ripened, red, juicy, and bursting with flavor. No liquid is used to make this soup, so the flavor is mainly that of tomatoes.

For this recipe, I use a pressure cooker, which is a piece of kitchen equipment I have not talked about before on this blog. Food cooks much faster in a pressure cooker, the pressure cooker is very energy efficient, keeps the kitchen much cooler, nutrients are not lost in the cooking process, and flavors are intensified.

Fresh Cream of Tomato Soup
(The New Pressure Cooker Cookbook by Pat Dailey)
1 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
3 leeks, white part only, sliced
1 Tbsp. butter
3 pounds ripe summer tomatoes, coarsely chopped
2 - 3 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 cup cream, if desired
Small pinch ground allspice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Melt butter in pressure cooker. Add the leeks and garlic and cook over medium heat until the leeks are wilted, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes to the pan along with 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar. Cover pressure cooker and bring up to full pressure. Reduce heat to stabilize pressure and cook for 15 minutes. Release pressure. (On really hot days, I step outside to release the pressure, so the steam doesn't fill the kitchen. On cold days, the steam feels nice.)

Remove about 1 cup of the liquid from the pan and reserve. Puree the remaining tomato mixture in a blender, then press through a fine mesh strainer to remove the tomato skins and seeds. Add the cream, if using, the allspice, and the salt and pepper. Taste and add remaining 1 tablespoon of brown sugar if the soup is too acidic. Add the reserved cooking liquid if the soup is too thick. (Don't dispose of the liquid if you don't need it. It can be used as cooking liquid in another recipe. Also tastes delicious to drink, well chilled.)

This soup is good served either hot or chilled.