Me and Jamie’s Food Revolution

Written on March 15, 2010 by smittenbybritainComment

Jamie Oliver’s new series premiers next Friday March 26th on ABC. The show, “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution” is set in my home state of West Virginia so I’m celebrating in my own way. Each week for the next few weeks I’ll feature a recipe from Jamie’s new book which accompanies the show, Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution. I have several of Jamie’s books and this is by far my favorite. It includes some classic British recipes along with some favorite Indian dishes like Vindaloo and Chicken Tikka Masala.

I wanted to begin the series with a nice British Beef and Onion pie. I knew that finding British beef would be an impossibility so I was willing to settle for what was in the market, but I had no idea I would have such a difficult time getting my paws on Marmite. Even the British shop in my area was out of it, so now I’m waiting for it to arrive by post. God bless the internet!

So while we wait for Marmite and Beef and Onion pie, I’ll start this series with Jamie’s simple but yummy tomato soup recipe. I like tomato soup normally but really loved this recipe because it contains more vegetables than just tomatoes, making it super healthy. I will admit it took some work, especially the bit where you have to puree the soup. I was minus a hand mixer and had to use a food processor instead which made a big mess. If you have a hand mixer then this recipe should be easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Jamie Oliver’s Tomato Soup

Here’s what you’ll need:

2 medium onions
2 carrots
2 celery stalks
2 cloves of garlic
1 3/4 quarts of chicken or vegetable broth
2 – 14 oz. cans of plum tomatoes
6 large ripe tomatoes
olive oil
small bunch of basil
sea salt
freshly ground pepper

Here’s the sweat and toil:

Cut up your veggies and garlic into the smallest pieces you can manage. Toss them in a sauce pan with some olive oil on medium heat and leave to cook for 10 minutes with lid askew until veggies are soft and onion is golden brown. At the same time pour the chicken or vegetable broth in another saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the boiling broth to the veggies pan along with your canned and fresh tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes covered. Remove pan from stove, season with salt and pepper and add basil leaves. Use an immersion blender (or hand blender) to pulse the soup until smooth. Now you’re ready to serve.

Here’s mine, with a very American grilled cheese sandwich. Mmmmm!