What To Do With Bruised Peaches: Chilled Peach & Tomato Soup

I came home from doing a Waitrose shop the other day, and as my Mother and I unpacked it, I got yelled at. Personally, when given the brief of ‘special offer peaches’ on the shopping list, I don’t think it was my fault when given a choice of reduced to £1 versions and 2 for £4 versions I got the wrong ones when there was no specification. However, I digress. While I still maintain that it was not my fault, my Mother was right when she told me that the £1 peaches were good for nothing but chopping up and cooking with.

This is how this recipe I originally found on Food 52 by a food blogger I sometimes read Beth Kirby I thought I’d share today became a lunchtime staple for a few days; it is a perfect Summer dish to use up old, not great, or more likely bruised peaches. It serves 2 as a light lunch or a starter and the flavours can be adjusted to personal taste. It can also easily be doubled.

Chilled Peach & Tomato Soup

• Author: Rachel Phipps
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 40 minutes (plus chilling time)
• Yield: Serves 2
• Category: Soup

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Description

This easy chilled soup is the perfect way to use up bruised or slightly under-ripe peaches during the height of summer.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• About 3 Large Peaches of Ripe Peach Flesh
• 4 Very Large Tomatoes, quartered 
• 1 Small Garlic Clove, minced
• 1 Small Shallot, finely chopped
• Splash Olive Oil
• 1 Bunch Fresh Thyme, tied with a bit of string
• 1 tsp Sea Salt
• 2 tsp Sugar
• 80ml Double Cream
• Pinch Cayenne Pepper 

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Instructions

1. Gently cook the garlic and the shallot in a little oil in a large saucepan over a low to medium heat until they are soft and translucent, but not browned as if you were frying them. This is called sweating.
2. Add the salt, thyme, peaches and tomatoes to the pan.
3. Simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until the tomatoes and peaches have broken down into a soup like mixture, but there are still a few chunks in it.
4. Remove from the heat and remove the bunch of thyme. Blend until smooth in a blender, or how I like to do it for small amounts like this using a hand held blender.
5. Sieve gently into a clean saucepan to remove any lumps, tomato skins and peach skins and fibers and return to a simmer at a low heat.
6. Stir in the sugar, cayenne pepper and the double cream. Taste, and add more sugar if it tastes a little tart (this might be the case if the tomatoes or peaches were not totally ripe), cayenne if you want a bit more of a kick or cream if you want it silkier or creamier.
7. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature before chilling in the fridge for a couple of hours.
8. Top with fresh basil and a dash of extra virgin olive oil to serve as a quick lunch or Summer starter. While this is a chilled soup, I find it still goes well with crusty bread. 

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