Читать книгу Gordon Ramsay’s Great British Pub Food - Gordon Ramsay - Страница 52

1kg vine-ripened tomatoes, about 12

1 marrow, about 1kg olive oil, to drizzle

few thyme sprigs, leaves stripped

3 large garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced

2 tsp caster sugar

sea salt and black pepper

small bunch of basil, leaves only, roughly chopped

300ml hot chicken or vegetable stock (see page 243)

1–2 tsp good-quality balsamic vinegar

Marrow is popular with gardeners but much less so with cooks, probably because its watery texture is something of a challenge. Roasting the vegetable concentrates the flavour and makes it a natural partner for roasted tomatoes in this summery soup. Serve it simply with a drizzle of good olive oil, or crumble some goat’s cheese on top and scatter over a handful of crunchy garlicky croûtons.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6. Halve the tomatoes and arrange, cut side up, on a baking tray. Peel, halve and deseed the marrow, then cut into 1.5cm cubes and spread out on another baking tray. Drizzle both generously with olive oil, then scatter over the thyme leaves, garlic, sugar and some salt and pepper. Toss the marrow cubes to ensure that they are well coated. Roast the tomatoes and marrows for 30–40 minutes, until they are soft and slightly caramelized, giving the marrows a stir halfway through.

As soon as they are cooked, purée the vegetables in a blender with the basil leaves and hot stock; do this in two batches if necessary and make sure you tip in all the flavourful juices. For a very smooth texture if preferred, pass the puréed soup through a fine sieve.

Transfer the soup to a pan and reheat gently. Taste and adjust the seasoning with a little balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Serve in warm bowls drizzled with a little olive oil.