TOMATO SOUP (POTAGE À LA TOMATE)

This soup is commonplace of most French occasional soups. So rich in tomato flavor, it more likely than not been made by a rancher's better half to exploit an excess of sun-matured tomatoes toward the end of the late spring. Thickened with different vegetables, this soup is the pith of summer.

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

4 large vine-ripened tomatoes, cored, seeded, and coarsely chopped

2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and diced

2 medium onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

3 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley

2 sprigs fresh thyme or 1⁄2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 bay leaf

1⁄2 teaspoon salt

4 cups water

Pepper

2 tablespoons crème fraîche or sour cream

1. Combine the tomatoes, potatoes, onions, garlic, parsley, thyme, bay leaf, salt, and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
2. Reduce the heat and simmer for approximately 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft.
3. Either pass the soup through a food mill into another saucepan, or remove and discard the parsley, thyme, and bay leaf and puree in a blender.
4. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the crème fraîche or sour cream before serving.
5.