• Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Snapchat
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

MsMarmiteLover

  • Food
    • Recipes
    • Vegetarian
    • Vegan
  • Travel
    • France
    • Italy
    • Spain
    • UK
  • Wine
  • Gardens
  • Supperclubs/Events
  • About
    • Published Articles
    • Books
  • Shop
    • Cart

Blue Monday Recipe: roasted tomato soup

January 6, 2014 13 Comments Filed Under: Food, Recipes, Uncategorized

January is the grimmest month. My birthday is in January. The official worst day of the year, Blue Monday, is always around my birthday. Oh for a birthday in June when days are long, when you can sit outside until almost midnight. The lilac and the pear blossom has just finished blooming. You can eat cherries and strawberries and stuffed courgette flowers with soft cheese. Windows and doors are open, cars drive by, drifting summertime music in their wake. Of course, June is when the happiest day occurs. 
What is good about January?
Blood oranges. Being inside while it rains. The possibility of snow. Feeling justified in not going outside. The occasional hot chocolate. Sitting by the Aga. Putting logs on the fire. Wearing boots. Buying a new coat in the sales. Forcing chicory. Seville bitter oranges and making marmalade. Soup with buttered bread.
Here is my recipe for soup on the Kenwood site. It’s easy. It may look like Heinz but it has a deeper taste. And this recipe is vegan. I like to leave a few tomato seeds in it, so that you know it is real.
Serves 4 to 6

1 kilo of Fresh Tomatoes
1 or 2 Red Bell Peppers
1 Aubergine (optional)
1 Head of Garlic, 
A Finger of Celery
1 or 2 Carrots, topped, tailed, peeled
Olive Oil
Salt
150ml Vegetable Stock
20ml of Sherry
Fresh Basil Leaves to garnish

The instructions for the recipe are here. 

What is your grimmest month? Do you find January depressing? Do you, like me, have a January birthday when most people are too broke to buy you a present?

Recent posts

Discovering fairytale Saxony in Germany

January 25, 2023

Fake meat taste test for Veganuary

January 8, 2023

A round-up of my favourite travel destinations of 2022

January 1, 2023

Previous Post: « How to look good at a dinner party: beauty tips for hostesses and guests
Next Post: Nanny Savino’s gnocchi recipe »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sarah Moore

    January 6, 2014 at 12:42 pm

    Happy Birthday! Maybe you should move to New Zealand where your birthday would be in midsummer. My birthday used to be in late autumn; I really like being able to have a birthday picnic now (well, sometimes anyway – I wouldn't have last year as we skipped spring completey). That soup does look good.

    Reply
  2. theundergroundrestaurant

    January 6, 2014 at 1:54 pm

    That sounds like a plan Sarah! Always wanted to go to New Zealand and Australia.

    Reply
  3. SallyC

    January 6, 2014 at 2:06 pm

    Happy Birthday! Friends of mine had their son on Christmas Day. Since he was born, they have given him an official 'Summer birthday' (like the Queen) in the middle of June, so he gets a proper birthday celebration that isn't over-shadowed by Christmas. That's when he has his birthday party (well, had – he's a Uni now and may no longer bother!) and gets birthday presents. As someone whose birthday is slap in the middle of August, I can tell you that's no sinecure either. As a child who went to boarding school, all my friends were scattered on holiday in their own homes miles away when my birthday came around, so no party. And as an adult, my friends are either away on holiday with their children – no party – or at home WITH the children … no babysitters and thus … no party!

    Reply
    • theundergroundrestaurant

      January 6, 2014 at 3:51 pm

      That's such a pain isn't it? My nan's birthday was Christmas Eve which is perhaps slightly worse. August isn't good either I agree, everyone is on holiday. That's why I think June is a great birthday month.

      Reply
  4. Anonymous

    January 6, 2014 at 3:45 pm

    Well don´t care about birthdays. Or count the years of prime numbers only. Or celebrate every 100 days and every 1000 with special sacrifice ( to Demeter, to Bacchus, to Orpheus or to all of them).
    Since Dec. 21 daylight increases ! It´s getting better everyday.
    Hippie daze
    Krischan
    (from Emscher-belt, where Helios doesn´t ever shine; so we must import Him in bottles from Rhine, Mosella, Rhone &c.)

    Reply
  5. theundergroundrestaurant

    January 6, 2014 at 3:56 pm

    Yes Krischan you are right, it IS getting brighter every day. Just looked up Emscher, it has a similar deadening grey light to London. Months of feeling like one is in that movie The Others, padding around under thick cloud.
    Woody Allen loves London's light for his movies. Hmm.

    Reply
    • Anonymous

      January 7, 2014 at 9:38 am

      Perhaps you can take a – cold – comfort in an old pitman´s ( the probably fictitious grandfather of novelist Frank Goosen of Bochum ) intuition :"Elsewhere is crap, too."
      Kind regards from decrepit Recklinghausen, where I live among beer drinking, mafficking soccer aficionados
      Krischan

      Reply
    • theundergroundrestaurant

      January 7, 2014 at 3:03 pm

      Have googled 'mafficking' it means to rejoice. What a great word!

      Reply
  6. Anonymous

    January 6, 2014 at 10:34 pm

    Love this photo and the little pots you've used for the soup! xx

    Reply
    • theundergroundrestaurant

      January 7, 2014 at 3:04 pm

      Thanks baby mouse…x

      Reply
  7. Magnolia Verandah

    January 7, 2014 at 5:50 am

    Pots of soup would have to make you feel richer surely?

    Reply
    • theundergroundrestaurant

      January 7, 2014 at 3:03 pm

      Pots of gold more like…

      Reply
  8. Larissa

    January 22, 2014 at 12:04 pm

    Das klingt sehr lecker. Das Rezept wird eines der nächsten sein, die ich auf jeden Fall ausprobieren werde.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

MsMarmiteLover aka Kerstin Rodgers.

Chef, photographer, author, journalist, blogger. Pioneer of the supperclub movement.

This is my food and travel blog, with recipes, reviews and travel stories. I also stray into politics, feminism, gardening.

Subscribe to my mailing list

msmarmitelover

Kerstin Rodgers/MsMarmiteLover
My piece is The Great Read: My piece is The Great Read:
Naples at Christmas- discovering piennolo di vesuv Naples at Christmas- discovering piennolo di vesuvio,the Christmas 🍅, which lasts up to a year fresh. It’s given boxed as gifts around Christmas being the only local fresh tomato available. It dresses all the Christmas pizzas and pastas. It’s grown on volcanic Vesuvius soil and sparsely watered. As a result it has thick skins, and a sweet intense flavour. #tomatoes #italy #naples
Not cooking much at the moment due to a thick laye Not cooking much at the moment due to a thick layer of dust over my kitchen. This will be my dining room/photography studio. Done on a whim.#unplanneddemolition
Another picture of my granddaughter Ophelia in a n Another picture of my granddaughter Ophelia in a nest of apricot tulle (found at portobello market). Isn’t she lovely? #granfluencer
Broccoli Stilton soup. This freezing week is defin Broccoli Stilton soup. This freezing week is definitely a week for soups. My friend @jimfrommanc is staying & needs his hot lunch.
Cheese on toast with crushed chilli 🌶️ in Ven Cheese on toast with crushed chilli 🌶️ in Venice the fresh food market sells bouquets of colourful chillies. I’ve still got mine, drying in an enamel jug. #travelandfood
The Christmas tomato or piennolo di vesuvio. Read The Christmas tomato or piennolo di vesuvio. Read all about it: https://msmarmitelover.com/2022/12/christmas-in-naples.html  Got a couple of bunches hanging in my kitchen. #naples #campania #tomatoes🍅 #travelphotography
Opheliagram. This morning I photographed her in an Opheliagram. This morning I photographed her in an Italian outfit I bought in Naples on a William Morris playmat which looks great and is practical for tummy time. So many things are different about parenting now. Parents use apps to track feeding, pooing, weeing etc. You don’t bathe them anymore for the first few weeks because you want to leave the vernix ( the white waxy stuff they are covered in at birth) on their skin as long as possible. Nappies now have a line on them that turns blue if they’ve done a pee. White noise apps to help them sleep. New technology guides new parents. As well as ancient probably prehistoric customs being rediscovered. #granfluencer #grandaughter I’ve tagged in @siennamarla and @jamescalmus as the authors of this baby.
I made two dishes from one pack of white beans las I made two dishes from one pack of white beans last night. Soak, then cook with 2 stock cubes, water & a fan of bay leaves. When soft & cooked, scoop some into a soup bowl with plenty of stock, add white wine, fresh basil and or a scoop of pesto and a squeeze of lemon for soupe au pistou. Garnish with Parmesan. Today I cooked the pot until the liquid had almost disappeared and added a block of feta. I baked this in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, added @pomoragoodfood new olive oil, salt and pepper for a gigantes plaki (but with smaller beans). Eat more beans!
What to make when you have lots of leftover egg yo What to make when you have lots of leftover egg yolks after making a pavlova? Zabaglione, that classic Italian trattoria dessert made from egg yolks, sugar & tons of masala sweet wine. Whisk it up over a bain-marie or be a bit cheaty & add a teaspoon of cornflour. Strong wrists needed. #italianfood #christmasdesserts #leftovers #cooksmart
The unpackaged vegan meats. My panel of 4 ( from c The unpackaged vegan meats. My panel of 4 ( from carnivore, to recent vegetarian, to long-time vegetarian to never eaten meat (my daughter)) tasted 18. It was quite a bushtucker trial. Carnivores & vegetarians liked very different things. Full report in next weeks @hamandhigh #veganuary #vegan #vegetarian #tastetest #fakemeat #plantbasedmeat
Fake meatathon tasting taking place as my veganuar Fake meatathon tasting taking place as my veganuary column for @hamandhigh So many companies doing this now. As a longtime vegetarian I don’t want anything that tastes too much like meat. But new vegetarians and vegans may want something that tastes close as damnit to meat in order to stave off cravings? Which category are you in? Have you any favourites or dislikes? Is this just another example of ultra-processed food? Let me know in the comments #vegan #vegetarian #meatfree #veganuary
Pasta buselli al cedro. Cedro or citron is a fragr Pasta buselli al cedro. Cedro or citron is a fragrant citrus & one of the founding citrus (along with pomelo and mandarin) that created all the other citrus fruits you know about. Usually candied, it is also used in this unusual neopolitan recipe in which you soak the zest in the pasta water overnight before cooking. Post up on the blog later today. Board a Xmas present from @siennamarla #pasta #naples #cedro #citrus
My london garden ce matin My london garden ce matin
My Sacher Torte (1 word or 2?) with a difference- My Sacher Torte (1 word or 2?) with a difference- bergamot marmalade in the middle. In the @hamandhigh this week. It’s bloody delicious. #chocolatecake #feelaustria #untoldstories #vienna #sachertorte
These are Mela Annurca apples, ‘mel’anurca’ These are Mela Annurca apples, ‘mel’anurca’ in Neapolitan dialect. They are a Christmas apple, in season now. I bought this little model basket of apples in San Gregorio di Armenia street in Naples where every year neopolitans buy something to add to their ‘presepe’ or nativity scene. Often scenes from markets to add to the expensive, anything from 500 euros to 5000 euros nativity crèches. Around Christmas this street is packed (watch out for pickpockets) with locals and tourist picking out their addition to the scene. Melanurca apples are picked in September then laid on the ground to ripen, turning them every day by hand, to ensure all sides transform from a yellow green into a Wicked Witch red. They are very healthy, particularly for your hair, according to scientists at the university of Naples. #naples #neopolitanchristmas #melanurca  #food #travel #sangregorioarmeno #presepenapoletano #nativityscenes
The Christmas tomato 🍅 or piennolo di vesuvio, The Christmas tomato 🍅 or piennolo di vesuvio, a local tomato that is sold around Christmas in Naples. It is grown with very little irrigation and lasts fresh up to a year. Hence it is used for tomato based Christmas dishes. This tomato has a thick skin and is really intense in flavour. It hangs outside grocers, on balconies, in kitchens, having been braided by ladies into bunches of 1.5 kilos. Each costs 15 euros. I went to visit the farmers and the ladies skilfully tying the tomatoes into clusters, using the vines to fasten them, like cherries. Boxed, these are given as gifts. Reel on the way! #naples #christmas #tomatoes #travel #food
Travel: how I pack. I choose one colour as well as Travel: how I pack. I choose one colour as well as black and white and stick to that palette. For Sicily & Naples I’m doing red, white & black. I’ve bought @coti_vision red glasses chain, a red beret & a black one, a pair of red @snagtights & a black pair, a red hair clasp, a red & white pair of shoes (25 euros, leather from Naples), a red & white dress, a black & white striped dress, and so on. Do you roll? Do you flatten & spread? Do you fold? How do you pack? A few days before I leave I leave my suitcase open in my bedroom and every time I think of something I need to take I sling it in there. ( like adaptors) Last thing is wash bag ( I have a hanging one which is useful) and coat (red for this trip). Basically I colour code my life. When I did the Camino everything was blue & yellow, the colours of the Camino. When I went to Ireland I took all my green clothes ( I don’t have many). If I go on a boat trip I pack blue and white. #packing #colourcoding #travel #mysuitcase
Ruota di pesce spada. A glorious oven baked Sicili Ruota di pesce spada. A glorious oven baked Sicilian fish dish, baked on onions, studded with garlic cloves wrapped in mint leaves, then more onions, capers, olives, oregano & rosemary. Use a thick central slice of swordfish (where can I get that in london?). I’m tasting grillo & Nero d’avola wines @tenutorapitala about an hour inland from Palermo. The owner is the last count Bernard de La gatinais. He has 3 daughters. He’s French (Brittany) and Sicilian. He spoke about how difficult it has been for wine growers since lockdown- so many restaurants closed. Now they are grappling with high energy & fuel costs. ##winesofsicilia #siciliaDOC #wine #travel #sicily
I love Venice. I love Maneskin. I love Italy. I lo I love Venice. I love Maneskin. I love Italy. I love boats and water. #biennalearte2022
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Archives

Copyright © 2023 msmarmitelover