About:

Is there anything better than tomato soup in the Fall?  I was guessing how this recipe would turnout but it came out terrific. I roasted the tomatoes, bottle gourd with shallots and added thyme, garlic, pepper corns because I’m on a tomatoes & thyme kick.

Health benefits:

Bottle gourd, or long melon, is long and cylindrical, and grows on a creeper. This nutritional vegetable is low in fat and cholesterol, and high in dietary fibre. It has cooling effect on the body because of the high water content in it.

Thyme is a part of the mint family. It is considered highly beneficial for curing a number of ailments caused by respiratory tract infections. It works as an effective home remedy for whooping cough and chest congestion.

Yields: 4-5 servings
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• Fresh tomatoes- 5-6 medium
• Diced bottle gourd-1 medium
• Shallots-2 medium (peeled and quartered)
• Fresh thyme-4 sprigs
• Garlic-4 cloves
• Whole pepper corns-4-5
• Vegetable stock/water-3 cups
• Milk-1 cup
• Olive oil- for roasting
• Salt- to taste

Procedure:

• Pre-heat the oven at 200deg c. line the baking tray with foil or baking sheet and set aside.
• Cut tomatoes into quarters (if using cherry tomatoes, leave them whole).
• Spread the tomatoes, bottle gourd, shallots, garlic cloves, pepper corns on the baking sheet.
• Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and thyme, gently toss.
• Roast for 25-30 minutes or until tomatoes, bottle gourd and shallots are brown and have caramelized.
• Remove from the oven and allow it to cool slightly, then transfer the roasted veggies into a food processor and blend until smooth. Add in the water/vegetable stock little while blending.
• (if soup is too chunky for your liking, pour through a mesh sieve and strain it)
• Now pour the blended mixture into a large pot and add the remaining vegetable stock/water, milk and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
• Sprinkle seasoning, fresh thyme and enjoy with crusty bread

Note:

• Spices and herbs can be personalised as per the taste.