Seasonal Tomato Soup and Gourmet “Grilled” Cheese: A Morning Glory Farm Recipe

My mom had given me a dozen good-sized tomatoes from our shared community garden plot. I decided to turn to my new cookbook, Morning Glory Farm. This cookbook was sent to me by the publisher to review on this blog, and is a compilation of recipes from this farm on Martha’s Vineyard. I can always tell a good cookbook by its organization. If it’s organized by seasons, you know the author and editor value seasonal foods, and showcasing certain items during the peak of their flavor. I flipped to “Summer Recipes” and found a recipe for tomato soup. I paired this with grilled cheese and had a satisfying, summery lunch.

Fresh Tomato Dill Soup

(slightly adapted from Morning Glory Farm)

10 large fresh tomatoes, cored and quartered

1 large sweet onion, peeled and diced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 Tbsp. sugar

2 cups of vegetable stock (the recipe calls for 4, but I like my soup a bit thicker)

1 1/2 cup light cream

3 Tbsp. chopped fresh dill (I used 1 Tbsp dried dill, as my CSA farmer didn’t have any dill in his herb garden today)

Salt & pepper to taste

Directions: Skin the tomatoes by submerging them in a pot of boiling water for 60 seconds. Remove and place in a colander. Run cold water over it and the skin should fall off.

Slowly sauté tomatoes, onions, and garlic in oil until tomatoes break down and onions and garlic are soft. Add sugar, then stock and heat.

Puree in batches in a blender. Return puree to pot and add cream, dill, and salt and pepper to taste. Heat until hot, but do not boil.

Gourmet “Grilled” Cheese

Between two mini whole wheat pitas, Tim chopped up thin slices of extra sharp Cabot cheddar and Cabot pepper jack. Upon this cheese, he layered German striped tomato slices and a few leaves of basil. These sandwiches were actually toasted (not grilled) for 5 minutes, or until the cheese melted and pita browned. These cheesy sandwiches were a perfect accompaniment to a warm bowl of summery tomato soup.

I highly recommend this cookbook to anyone interested in cooking seasonally. You can check it out here.

Stay tuned for another recipe from this cookbook, including garden zucchini and farmstand blueberries. Can you guess what it is?