A Good Taste Companion

Mmmmmmm, this is a staple, a stand-by. So so easy to make, you can do it quick, you can do it slow, you can't go wrong. You can spice it up or you can calm it down. What's not to like? I started making tomato soup following first a Delia Smith recipe and then a J amie Oliver number.  This is a mix of both.  I tend towards the slow and lazy Delia roast tomato soup version, and have moved away from Jamie's very expensive multi-coloured designer tomatoes-on-the-vine approach. This (to the right) is Delia's slow-roasted version - with basil and croutons ...  hers is languid and sophisticated. Hers is so Italian with its olive paste and wotnot ... you can hear the latin notes of Rome oozing through this one. . . (Click on the image). And this (to the left) is Jamie's - he gets you to make a dessert and a side dish all in the same 30 minutes.  You serve the soup on TOP of ciabatta chunks as if they were giant sunken croutons. I had this at a friend's h...

So just for fun ... a Comic Life Recipe ...  It's not really a pesto, but it works like one. A pesto hack, maybe.  But we'll call it Hey Pesto!  This stuff is quick to rustle up as a sauce or garnish. You can use it to pep things up in a mild tasting pasta dish or to top a soup or casserole.  It adds a zingy sparkle, when you are scoffing your way through a one bowl winter warmer; the food we often have in the cold is a single comfort dish, substantial and hearty and with everything piled into the same  pot.  So we sometimes need a little variety, a culinary fascinator ... a topping.  You might have a crunchy crouton ... but if you have chunky bread on the side maybe a crouton is one starchy carb too many. Hey Pesto!  Here's what goes in: Ingredients: A bunch of basil ( a cup full) The juice from  half a lemon (or a lime)* 1 - 2 tbsps excellent quality olive oil 1  clove garlic or 1./2 teaspoon lazy garlic 20 gr...