Soupe aux tomates de style portugais

The air conditioning is slowly rising from only one of the three vents in our rented apartment. It is 80F outside with 80% humidity. We only have one small fan spinning at its maximum speed. Case in point: It is hot. 

Sticky, sweaty hot.   

My mind went directly to gazpacho for this afternoon's kitchen project, but the hidden goal behind making this meal was that I wanted to use up what was in the fridge. And summer always exhausts me of salads. I needed to make... soup. Hot. Soup. 

Dear Reader, as you are well aware, this is not our first time making something completely ridiculous when the conditions are severe. One might recall the post when I baked a bread in 95 degree weather. Or when Charlie made impromptu pasta from scratch when...well, we were out of boxed pasta and the store was closed. If we want to do something we just do it.

The fridge was bursting with leftover "dippables" from the  hummus I had made the week before. Celery stalks. Carrot sticks. Um, hello? Chop these guys together with some onion and you have instant mirepoix.  Combine this with the forgotten fresh herbs in the fridge and BAM! All arrows were pointing to France. OK. A French vegetable-based soup it was. But wait! I have garlic. And spinach. And limas. Garlic, spinach, and limas are a classic Portuguese combination. OK, so my brain was ending the fiasco here: A Portuguese-inspired, French-style soup. Phew. This will be a fun, creative time in the kitchen. All of a sudden, I don't feel so hot. I guess I'm just excited.

Before I start listing ingredients, I cannot stress this enough, people: Use clean water to make any soup, bean, or rice dish. Leave the tap to water your plants with. I learned this trick while living in Spain and it really does make a difference. Either use filtered water (Brita, Pür, or the like), or buy a bottle of mineral water.


MATERIALS
5 garlic cloves
Half a bottle of young red wine (ex. a French Boujoulais or a Portuguese Douro)
Fresh herbs de provence, off-the-stalk (and minced), about 2-3 Tbsps.
1 large onion
4-5 celery stalks (and their leaves)
4-5 large carrots
1/2 - 1 lb. cherry tomatoes
large can of crushed tomatoes
2 large red bell peppers
5-9 oz. of spinach and/or rocket
8-9 oz. of organic, frozen lima beans
1/2 -3/4 liter of mineral water

1 tsp butter

4 bay leaves

olive oil

sea salt

Food Processor

- Serves 6  -

WHAT TO DO:
Using my food processor made this whole experiment easier and faster. Especially when your small kitchen can barely has the surface area for a cutting board. After you rough chop all the above vegetables, simply chop them finely in the food processor, but seperately. These need to go into the pot (with oil and butter) in a specific order.

1. Onion. Sautée lightly then add

2. Carrots and

4. Red Peppers and
4. Celery and let them cook together with a liberal dash of salt.

When the liquid starts to get released from this mix, add the garlic (mince it), and herbs (de-stem and give these guys a whirl in the processor as well.) 

Turn up the heat and add your wine. Let it reduce almost completely. Then you add your can of crushed tomatoes and processed greens.

While this is in your pan, puree your cherry tomatoes and add those as well. Cover, and let it come to a boil.

When the pot is gently bubbling, add your limas. Cover and let simmer for 15 minutes. When the beans are done, so is the soup. Test for salt.  Enjoy.