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Gluten Free Soups & Stews

Coconut Roasted Tomato Soup.

Unlike those thick vegetable and ground provision laden soups the region is known for, this Tomato Soup hits different on many levels. Smooth, rich and creamy with a hint of herbs and bursting with flavors of the summer. With the vine ripe tomatoes freshly harvested from my garden.

You’ll Need…

4-5 lbs tomatoes
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon salt (divided) – adjust
1 teaspoon black pepper (divided)
8-10 sprigs thyme (divided)
1 large onion (diced)
1 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil
2 scallions (chopped)
2 stalks celery (diced)
1 pimento pepper (optional)
4-6 confit garlic
1/2 cup prepared salted cod (optional)
2 tablespoon tomato (concentrated) paste
1 liter chicken stock
2 cups coconut milk
1 cup water
1 tablespoon honey (optional)
1 tablespoon brown sugar (optional)
1-2 tablespoon parsley (chopped finely)

IMPORTANT! If doing this recipe gluten free, please go through the full list of ingredients to make sure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs. Especially the stock you choose to use.

Wash and dry the tomatoes, then (since I used different size tomatoes) cut the large ones into 1/4’s. Please remove the stem area where there’s a hard area (discard). Explained in the video below.

Place the tomatoes on a baking sheet (450F preheated oven).. then drizzle on the olive oil, 1/2 the salt, and 1/2 black pepper. Then fresh from my garden, some thyme (1/2 of it). Middle rack for 45 minutes. Allow to cool, then remove the skin off the tomato and discard.

Unfortunately I don’t have a pic of the roasted tomatoes when they came out of the oven, but you can follow along in the video below.

Time for soup making! Add the coconut oil to a soup pot on a medium flame, followed by the onion, scallions, celery and remaining black pepper. Heat on low now please.

Add the pimento peppers (optional) and the remaining thyme. Here is where I’ll add my confit garlic and prepared salted cod. Add raw garlic if you don’t have confit garlic.

As it gentle cooks, add the remaining salt and the tomato paste. Stir well to allow the tomato paste to hit the bottom of the pan as this will give us a lovely sweetness to the tomato. Keep in mind that the salted Cod and chicken stock will have a salty element, so adjust your final salt at the end or you may run into problems.

Add the chicken stock to the pot and bring to a boil. Now it’s time to add the roasted tomato (remove the thyme stalks) to the pot (try to remove as much of the skin as possible). And do include any juices on the baking tray.

Turn the heat up to bring to a boil and add the coconut milk and water. Stir well. Then reduce the heat to med/low after it comes to a boil and allow the soup to cook for 25 minutes.

Feel free to add a bit more black pepper (fresh ground) and taste/adjust the salt. If you find there’s a bit of tartness you can add a bit of brown sugar and parmesan cheese would also make a great addition. I added honey and sugar.

Here’s where you’ll use your stick blender and pulse until you get the texture and consistency you like. DO NOT go continuous or it will go frothy.

You should have a nice silky texture combined with herbal notes, the sweetness of the coconut and the fresh burst of summer… in the roasted tomatoes. ENJOY!

Drop me your comments below, tag me on Instagram and don’t forget you can now get my cookbook – The Vibrant Caribbean Pot, 100 Traditional And Fusion Recipes @ CaribbeanPot.com/CookBook/

Gluten Free Vegetarian

Roasted Tomato Coconut Soup (vegetarian).

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Doh try that! I can hear my Caribbean people screaming “that is not we kinda soup”! As we’ve discussed in the past, soups on the islands are tick, heavy and generally full of body (like what most non-Caribbean consider to be hearty stews). But let me assure you that this soup is quite filling and very comforting. You’ll notice that the ingredients are what we use daily throughout the Caribbean and yuh know we love ah coconut milk!  Tip: If you roast the vegetables on a grill or open fire, you’ll get a lovely overall flavor.

You’ll Need…

5 Large tomatoes
1 medium onion
2 bell peppers
Pinch sea salt + 2 tablespoon olive oil + 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 scallions
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 sprigs thyme
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika (hot – smoked pimenton)
2 cloves garlic
1 can coconut milk (about 1 1/4 cups)
1 cup water (see note below)
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Notes: add vegetable or chicken stock instead of the water – add more liquid if it’s too thick. Add a pinch of curry at the start if you want a bit more flavor. You can do this recipe fully gluten free, just pay attention to the coconut milk (if it’s from a can and have additives, as well as any stock you choose to use)

roasted tomato coconut soup (1)

Remove the stems and woody area at the top of the tomatoes and cut into wedges. Give the onion and bell peppers a rough chop as well. Drizzle on the olive oil, salt and black pepper. Toss well and set (on a baking tray) in a pre heated 400 F oven for 35-40 mins.

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As the roasted vegetables cools a bit, add the olive oil (or use coconut oil) to your soup pot on a medium heat. Now go in with the chopped scallions, parsley, garlic and thyme. Reduce the heat to low and gently cook for 3 mins. Add the black pepper and Pimenton and cook (on low) for another 2-3 minutes.

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Turn the heat up to medium and add everything (including any juices) from the baking tray. Stir well.

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Add all the other ingredients and bring to a boil (turn up the heat), then reduce to a simmer and let it go for about 35 minutes. Stir often.

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Use a stick blender to pulse the soup at this point.. you can go smooth or I like pulsing to leave it a bit chunky. You can also pour it into a stand blender.. but be mindful that you’re dealing with HOT stuff.

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Bring back to a boil and get ready to serve. IMPORTANT! I used water as my liquid, so if using veg or chicken stock, don’t add any salt until the end as most stocks are usually loaded with sodium.

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QUITE comforting when you want a soup full of flavors and not overly heavy. A couple slices of your favorite bread and you’re golden! Store in the fridge and reheat on a very low heat if you have leftovers.

Gluten Free Soups & Stews Vegetarian

Roasted Tomato And Rice Soup, Memories of Tomato Choka.

About 10 years ago I had my first culinary encounter with tomato and rice soup while visiting Caron’s grandparents and though I wasn’t (so I thought..silly me) a fan of tomato soup, the plump grains of rice in it got my attention. I could not believe I was asking for seconds even though my bowl was only half the way through. I had always reflected back to that dish, but for some reason I never ventured to ask Heddi (ma-mere) for the recipe. Somehow I’m glad I didn’t as when it came time to prepare it it this past summer when we had an abundance of vine ripe tomatoes in our garden, I decided to put my own twist on this tomato and rice soup I first fell in love with a decade ago.

Tomato choka is one of my favorite ways to enjoy ripe tomatoes, so I thought I’d mimic the same technique in making this rice and tomato soup for those rich roasted and spicy flavors. Basically, here’s my take on tomato choka soup.

 

You’ll Need…

3 large tomatoes
1 medium onion
4 cloves garlic
2 tablespoon olive oil
4 cups chicken stock (or veg)
1/4 scotch bonnet pepper
1 cup parboiled brown rice
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 tablespoon tomato paste (optional)
1/2 teaspoon  brown sugar
pinch ground coriander

* If you don’t have access to a grill as I did, toss the tomatoes in about 2 tablespoon of olive oil (not mentioned in the ingredient list) and roast them in your oven at 400 F for about 30 minutes or so. You will notice that I used chicken stock, but the recipe is posted in the vegetarian section. For vegetarians, please use vegetable stock and it will be a complete one-pot vegetarian meal. IMPORTANT: If doing this recipe gluten free do go through the ingredient list to ensure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs.

As with making traditional tomato choka I placed the ripe tomatoes on my grill, along with a whole green scotch bonnet pepper to cook. The pepper will take about 2-3 minutes (remove), but give the tomatoes about 20-30 minutes, flipping them so they char evenly. Yes, it’s normal for them to look burnt on the outside.

Remove the tomatoes off the grill and place in a bowl to cool. They will release a lot of liquid as they cool, thus the reason for having them in a bowl so you can save this lovely liquid to add to the pot later. When they’re cool enough to handle, remove the charred skin and give them a rough chop.

Heat the olive oil on a med/low flame in your soup pot and gently cook the diced onion, thyme and garlic for about 4 minutes. Then add the tomato paste and cook for another 2-3 minutes. By adding the tomato paste at this point the sort of frying will increase the natural sugars in the paste and give the dish a lovely sweetness.

Now turn up the heat and add all the other ingredients except the rice. Bring to a boil.

Wash the rice to remove any grit and extra starch. Do so by placing the rice in a strainer and run cool water over it while moving it around until the water runs clear. Or you can place the rice in a deep bowl, top with water, then massage the grains of rice. The water will get cloudy. Drain, repeat until the water runs clear. As the pot comes to a boil add the rice, then turn the heat down so you have an active simmer going.

Let it cook for 20-25 minutes or until the rice grains are plump and fully cooked.

Skim off any sort of reside off the top of the pot as it cooks and discard. Remember to taste for salt and adjust accordingly. If you used a whole scotch bonnet pepper as I did, you now have 2 options. Remove it so you don’t have that ‘kick’ or burst it open to reveal that Caribbean sunshine. WARNING! It will be live!

Top with some chopped parsley and get ready to serve with a thick slice of coconut bake or bread. This is not your typical Caribbean soup which is usually thick with ground provisions and salted meats (for the most part), but I assure you that this absolutely delicious, quite filling and a great twist on traditional tomato soup and rice soup.

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