Happy Birthday Julia!

To celebrate this special day I should have made something from this book.

 But because tomatoes are in season and I had plenty of tomatoes on hand, I made my favorite tomato soup from this book. 

This cookbook is one that is worth looking at if you've never seen it.  It's beautifully illustrated and the recipes are wonderful too.  

So here is the tomato soup recipe.  Be sure to have a crusty french loaf on hand!

TOMATO SOUP AUX PARFUMS de PROVENCE

1/4 c. olive oil

4 leeks, rinsed, trimmed and minced

2 fennel bulbs, trimmed, cored and minced

8 cloves of garlic, minced

3 carrots, minced

1/4 c. fresh rosemary

1/4 c. fresh thyme

2 tbs. grated orange zest

12 medium vine-ripened tomatoes, seeded and diced

1 c. dry white wine

4 c. chicken stock

Sea salt 

Garnish with Creamed Goat Cheese & Pistou (pesto)

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat adding leeks, fennel, garlic, carrots, rosemary, thyme and orange zest. Saute until the vegetables are soft.  Add tomatoes, wine  and stock; season with salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil then simmer uncovered for 45 minutes. 

To finish the soup puree half in a blender then recombine it with the original mixture.  Ladle soup into serving bowls and drizzle the top of each dish with 1 tablespoon of pistou and 1 tablespoon goat cheese.  Serve at once.  Makes 6-8 servings.