Chefs & Champagne 2010: Chilled Heirloom Tomato Soup
Summer in a bowl
Posted August 5th, 2010 by noelle | View Comments
Recently, I was invited to attend The James Beard Foundation’s Chefs & Champagne event at the Wölffer Estate Vineyard in Sagaponack, NY. The event honored Martha Stewart for her work in bringing “elegant and approachable cuisine” to a growing audience in our country. The event featured 37 reception chefs from some of the country’s finest restaurants. Reception chefs included James Beard Foundation Award winners Marcus Samuelsson as well as Todd English, George Faison, Gavin Kaysen, Karen DeMasco, Michael Nischan and Michael Ginor. The tasting menu featured some fabulous food, dessert, champagne and wine. Chef Pierre Schaedelin from Benoit here in New York City put together a fabulous Chilled Heirloom Tomato Soup topped with golden croutons, yellow tomatoes and chives that I loved. So, in tribute to his wonderful presentation at the Chefs & Champagne 2010 event, I put together this Chilled Heirloom Tomato Soup at home that is detox-diet friendly. It’s perfect for these warm summer days, when you don’t feel like doing much cooking.
Chilled Heirloom Tomato Soup
Serving Size: 2, ~200 calories per serving
Ingredients
3 cups vine ripened tomatoes, sliced (Heirloom tomato or any tomato you have on hand)
1 ear of corn, kernels removed
5 big luscious leaves of fresh basil
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and pepper to taste
Better-for-you ingredients
Learn more about the better-for-you ingredients in this recipe:
- Tomatoes are believed to contain useful detoxification enzymes and provide your body with healthy antioxidant support.
- Basil contains vitamins A and C and is a powerful antioxidant – or “free radical fighter” which may help prevent cancer and heart disease as well as slow the aging process.
Directions
Combine tomatoes, corn, basil and olive oil into a frying pan. Saute the veggies for a minute or two. Add a touch of sea salt and pepper to taste. When the tomatoes are slightly soft, transfer the contents of the frying pan to a food processor and pulse the mixture until it is coarse and chunky. Enjoy warm (as I sometimes do because it’s so delicious) or transfer to the refrigerator to chill. Serve chilled with a touch of sea salt and pepper and a few sliced tomato pieces on top for garnish. Toasted croutons with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil would also be wonderful on top.
