Tomato-Zucchini Soup

I purchased a tiny tomato cookbook at a library sale last summer — I still prefer illustrated cookbooks to recipes I find online. I much prefer working from pulp than electronics; the recipes seem better tested. The author made a commitment to publishing, thus acknowledging the inability to make corrections at a later date.

This book is called “The Tomato Cookbook” (1994 edition), edited by Nicola Hill, and a part of a Basic Ingredients library.

Boil tomatoes until the skin puckers.

Growing up, I watched my mother skin tomatoes for many recipes. I still skin tomatoes the same way: Bring a pot of water to a boil. Drop them into the boiling water about 2 minutes, depending on the size and ripeness of the tomato, or boil until the skin puckers. Remove with a slotted spoon. When cool enough to handle, the skins should slide easily off. My mom made a criss-cross in the top of each tomato, but I’ve found that’s not necessary.

The cookbook says to serve the soup cold, but it was equally delicious warm. When hot I prefer without yogurt, when chilled it’s best to stir a bit in. I also added leeks, which were a marvelous addition.