One morning in early September, I woke to the thermostat’s kind of unexpected but bang-on-time and seasonally appropriate warning: +4 C. I’d seen our neighbour the evening before in his combine, all lights running in the dark as he put on a full-court press to finish the baling. On that suddenly autumn morning, the field was full of hay bales, and I knew I had to hurry to do my own harvesting.
I picked all the tomatoes, thankfully without a hint of frost on them, then cut down the herbs. The basil leaves that protruded above the raised bed’s timber frame were wilted and discoloured from the chill, so I snipped the rest, then moved on to the hardier herbs. The rosemary plants came indoors.
By then, my kitchen counters were covered. So I left the last of the beans on their bushes and vines to dry for seed. And I left the carrots, beets and spuds in their beds to get chilly, transforming into added sweetness. I made a coffee and thought about how to store my bounty, starting with the herbs.
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Highly flavoured acid — that is, vinegar — is a necessity in the cook’s pantry. Acidity is vital for balancing dishes in conjunction with salt, sweetness, fat and spicy heat. I have a cupboard devoted to vinegars, so I filled a few quart jars with herbs, plus a few embellishments, then glugged in some apple cider vinegar to cover the stems and leaves. A double layer of plastic wrap went over the mouth of the jar to protect the lid from corroding, then I sealed and labelled each. They’d be ready for decanting in about a month. One jar was straight tarragon; a second held basil, thyme, rosemary, sage, oregano and parsley, in a Prairie version of “Scarborough Fair”; a third held the last of the basil with some quartered purple prune plums and star anise.
I tied the rest of the herbs into bundles and hung them over the wood stove to dry for several weeks before they would be rubbed from their stems and stored in glass jars.
The tomatoes ripened slowly on the counter in a single row, stems down, on trays lined with paper towel. If I’d planned on being away for a protracted length of time, I’d have wrapped each in newspaper and stored them in a cool room for my return. When I got impatient with the slow ripening time, I added a few bananas to each tray for their ethylene emission.
That morning I made soup with the first few pounds of ripe tomatoes. “What smells so good?” Dave said repeatedly whenever he wandered into the kitchen. A few days later, when more tomatoes ripened, I made the soup again, but with variations. Dave couldn’t make up his mind which version he preferred. So first we eat, then let’s talk about the hallmarks of a good recipe.
Tomato and red lentil soup
One of the hallmarks of a good recipe might be its versatility. This self-thickening soup, my current favourite, can drive off in all kinds of other directions, depending on how you season it. See options at the bottom of the ingredients list to debate with your own clan. Use fresh tomatoes, or Roasted Tomato Sauce (see Sept. 21, 2021 issue) from your freezer. I particularly love to serve it with grilled Greek-style pita slathered with Boursin cheese. Simmering time: about an hour.
Serves 6-8.
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil or butter
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large onion, minced
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1-2 mild or spicy sausages, diced, raw or cooked (optional)
- ¼ c. tomato paste
- 4 c. diced tomatoes
- 1 ½ c. red lentils
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 1 tsp. dried basil
- 1 Tbsp. honey
- a large sprig of fresh basil, if available
- 6 c. water
- 1 Tbsp. herb-flavoured vinegar
- 1 c. crème fraiche or whipping cream
Other possibilities:
- diced ham or pulled pork
- sliced bacon
- smoked paprika
- sweet paprika
- Indian curry spices
- Thai curry paste
- Mexican whole or ground chiles or chili powder
- cooked chickpeas or Great Northern beans
- diced bell peppers
- corn kernels
- coconut milk to replace the crème fraiche
Heat butter or oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot. Add garlic, sauté for a minute, then add onion. Season with salt and pepper, reduce heat to low, cover the pot, and sweat onions for 10 minutes, stirring once or twice.
Uncover, raise the heat, and add sausage. Cook until done or reheated, then add tomato paste. Sauté for 2 minutes, stirring. Add all remaining ingredients except vinegar and crème fraiche or whipping cream. Stir well, bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until tender, and lentils fall apart, about an hour.
Add vinegar and crème fraiche or whipping cream, mix well, adjust seasoning with additional salt and pepper to taste, and serve.
