Zuppa di Pomodoro—Tomato Soup

Colorful beauty like a sunset in winter, this is a simple recipe. Tuscans make one similar called Zuppa Toscana by adding bread cubes and white wine. 

Ingredients

1 large onion (quartered is fine/ the soup gets blended
4-5 garlic cloves (pressed)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp. Harissa powder
1 tbsp. tomato paste
1 tsp. Black olive spread (I use Divina Organic Kalamata Spread/ a pantry staple)
24 oz. jar Tomato crushed or strained (I like Bionaturae)
32 oz. Vegetable broth/ or chicken broth (I use Pacific Foods)
3 bay leafs
sea salt
1 strip kombu (about 2" strip)—Kombu (Maine Coast Sea Vegetables) is a seaweed I add to all sauces and soups thus infusing what I am making with the sea's rich minerals and benefits. Kombu also softens beans while cooking and enhances flavor. You use less sea salt because of it. 

Directions

1. Saute onions and garlic (if you don't own a garlic press then chop coarsley) in olive oil.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer 45 minutes. I actually place all my soup pots in the oven at 350 degrees for the same duration, rather than cooking them stove top. A trait that stems from having an AGA when the children were young. 
3. Simmer on low, or pop an oven proof soup pot in the oven as I do, using my Emile Henry Dutch Oven or Le Creuset. 
4. Remove bay leafs, and kombu. Let cool a bit before blending.
5. Dress with fresh ground pepper, olive oil and a drizzle of goat kefir, or dollop of chèvre. Thin with water if too thick, heat and serve.
   
   
   
   
   This is an action shot of me in in my previous kitchen. I am wearing my face of concentration, serving red sauce over polenta. It's a terribly blurred image but it evokes the energy of real life in the kitchen!