Healthy Meals/ Recipes/ Soups/ Vegetables/ Vegetarian

Spicy Tomato Soup with Buttermilk

I know… tomato season comes to an end, but it is not too late to try this spicy tomato soup with buttermilk at least once this year and save it for next year (I am sure you will keep this recipe!). Luckily I can still find very nice tomatoes in the farmers ‘market and this is a consolation for the delayed posting of this one.

It all started with the recipe of the Greek chef Andreas Lagos for a Sour tomato soup with cream cheese and capers; Since I found it I have made it many times and I love it. As you have already understood I like to use spices in my kitchen so I tried to make his soup a little spicier. I also tried to roast the vegetables in the grill for a while to get a little more intense flavor. I added some spices that I think that fit and I replaced the cream cheese with the buttermilk, which like to add to soups, especially cold ones.

Tomato is considered an excellent source of nutrients due to lycopene (phytochemical with strong antioxidant action). Lycopene, apart from the characteristic red color that offers, has the capacity to destroy free radicals that damage the DNA and lead to the development of chronic diseases. Recently, in fact, studies link this substance to the protection against various types of cancer, especially prostate cancer. According to surveys, most of the amount of lycopene we receive derives from products made from tomatoes (e.g. tomato paste, tomato juice, pasta sauce, ketchup).

➜ lycopene contained in tomato juice is more easily absorbed by the body, compared to the lycopene found in whole tomatoes. This is because when you grate the tomato to make juice or puree, a greater quantity of the substance is released.

➜ scientists also claim that lycopene is more easily absorbed by the body when cooking tomatoes in vegetable fats (e.g. olive oil), which is why the tomato sauce is an ideal anticancer food.

Let’s take a look at our soup’s recipe, which by the way is rich in vitamins A and C:

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Servings: 3-4

Ingredients:

5 ripe tomatoes
1 large sweet red pepper
1 small onion
4 small green onions and 1 more for decorating
1 large clove of garlic
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1 ½ tsp smoked paprika powder
½ teaspoon cumin powder
1 tablespoon white vinegar
20 ml lemon juice (4 teaspoons)
50 ml olive oil (a little less than ¼ cup)
½ tablespoon tomato paste
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons capers
2-3 dried whole wheat bread cut into small pieces, or breadcrumbs
low fat buttermilk

Instructions:

1. Preheat grill to 240^o C (460^oF).
2. Peel and cut the onion in half and peel and trim fresh onions. Using a silicon brush coat vegetables with olive oil and place them on a nonstick baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes, until their skins loosen but not enough to be cooked on the inside. Onions should be removed earlier than tomatoes and peppers. Let them cool.
3. Meanwhile, prepare the remaining ingredients. When the vegetables have cooled, remove skin and non-edible parts andput them in the food processor or blender, and add all the ingredients up to the tomato paste. Add salt and pepper as desired.
4. Put the soup in the refrigerator until serving time.
5. To serve , pour soup in the serving bowls, garnish the center of the plate with a few breadcrumbs, capers and chopped green onion. Finally, using a spoon pour the buttermilk around the nuts. You will need about 2 tablespoons for each dish.

The spicy tomato soup with buttermilk is better eaten cold, but I tried it at room temperature I found it equally delicious!!

Hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did!

Nutritional Facts per Serving
Calories	Carbohydrates	Sugars	Total Fat	Saturated Fat	Proteins	Dietary Fibers
155.0	12.8	6.1	10.6	1.5	2.8	3.4