Tag Archives: tomato

Tomato Soup

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The weather is cold, but nothing warms you up like a good bowl of homemade soup. Korea has plenty of soup options that are ready to buy. However despite its popularity throughout the globe, tomato soup has yet to make its debut on the supermarket shelves of Korea.  Sure you can buy a can of Campbells in the Foreign Food Mart but it’s not available in your local supermarket.  Back home a tin of soup and a few slices of bread really hits the spot. So if you’re hankering after a bowl I present to you my recipe. Which is as close as you can get to the cream of tomato soup from back home. With the added bonus that this homemade variety is even better. You can also source all your ingredients at your local home-plus.  I also make a fantastic roasted tomato and red pepper soup, however I usually  make that in spring when tomatoes are cheap, ripe and plentiful. This is the store cupboard standby of you dreams.

Ingredients

2 cans of hunts tomato paste (comes in small cans found at homeplus etc)

400ml chicken stock

600ml milk (I use half fat, but go full fat it you like it very creamy)

1 onion

4 cloves of garlic

200ml cream (optional)

A knob of butter

1 tablespoon of mixed herbs

2 tablespoons of garlic powder

Fresh basil leaves

Salt & Pepper

Directions

Finely chop the onions and garlic and fry off in a little oil and a knob of buuter. Add the tomato paste and chicken stock to the pan and bring to the boil. Once the soup is boiling, add the milk and cream. Stir in the herbs and salt and pepper then serve with delicious homemade bread.Voilà tasty tomato soup.

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Cheese Tarts

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I really miss being able to buy ready-made pastry. Short-crust, filo or puff I love them all. Being able to go to the store and just throw a couple of things on a delicious pastry base makes such a lovely dinner. However with the lack of ready to roll pastry here in Korea, it’s a pain in the neck to have to make your own every time you want it.

I have been looking at my spring roll wrappers for a while now, they look very similar to filo pastry, would they work for a tart? Turns out they do, they worked even better than expected. They cook really quickly and have a nice crunchy texture. They are also really cheap so you can save those pennies and put them towards the filling.

Ingredients

16 Springroll / samosa wrappers (I got mine at the foreign food mart in Itaewon)

1 sliced tomato

150g grated cheddar/ mozzarella

4 teaspoons of Garlic herb Philadelphia

50 g spinach

2 red onions

Directions

Defrost the spring roll wrappers so you are able to peel them off one by one. Arrange them in your tin by layering them on top of each other. Try and skew them so you get the pointy bits the whole way around, about 3 or 4 will do it. Then choose your filling, pretty much anything will do here so let your imagination run wild. I just had a go with what was in the fridge. I caramelised some red onions with a bit of balsamic vinegar then topped them with the Philadelphia and then the grated cheese. The other ones I made had the spinach, tomatoes and grated cheese . Put them in the oven for about 5 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and the cheese has melted. Serve on their own or with a side salad. Voilà a quick and easy dinner.

Ensalada Capresa

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I was first introduced to this culinary delight by my boyfriend when travelling in Venezuela and I’ve been in love with it ever since. Big tomatoes are in season at the moment and this is the perfect recipe to use them, It may seem a bit costly for a salad but the taste is so fresh and amazing you wont regret investing in it.
Ingredients 
1-2 beef steak tomatoes (or really big tomatoes as I like to call them.)
I bag/ ball of fresh motzerella about 100g
8-10 fresh basil leaves or as much fresh basil as you have.
A glug of olive oil
A splash of balsamic vinegar (optional)
A pinch of salt and pepper.
Directions 
Slice the tomatoes and motzerella into to 5mm thick slices. Sprinkle the salt and pepper onto the tomatoes then arrange on a plate alternating between the tomatoes and motzerella and basil. Drizzle the whole thing with the oil and balsamic vinegar if your using it. Voilà a tasty and easy salad. If your feeling flush you could also add some fabulous fresh olives from the deli.