11th July 2010

It's hot. Too hot to eat hot food, but you can get tired of salad every day. French legend has it there was once a beautiful girl called Ferline, whose poorest suitor brought back some strange seeds from a trip to S. America. He planted them in a sunny spot and, after offering Ferline his harvest, they fell in love. The fruit was called pomme d'amour until the 18C. And the fruit? Yes, the humble tomato. The town where Ferline grew up was Marmande in the Aquitaine, which holds a Tomato Fiesta every year: this year it's in the Place du Marche July 23 - 25th.
Try this wonderful cold soup recipe. It's absolutely delicious and, above all, easy - especially if like us you've managed to grow some tomatoes yourself this year.
Provencale tomato soup
Bake 4lb large ripe tomatoes in the oven, after seasoning with salt, pepper, pinch of sugar, and drizzling a little olive oil over them. After 1hr, the tomatoes should have burst and have black tops. Remove from oven and leave to cool. Pull off skins and put tomatoes and all their juices into a food processor. Puree and add some creme fraiche. Eat lukewarm or iced. Garnish with a little chopped cucumber or red pepper plus a sprig of parsley. Enjoy!