This tomato soup recipe from Meliz Berg is like a big warm hug – guaranteed to keep you satiated and satisfied during the long wintry nights ahead. Plus, even Jamie Oliver has given it a big thumb’s up
Nothing quite hits like a huge bowl of soup on a cold evening.
Self-taught cook and recipe creator Meliz Berg recently featured on Jamie Oliver’s website due to her comforting tomato soup recipe, that only uses five ingredients and some staple seasonings you probably already have in your kitchen cupboards. “My dad has two signature soups that he would always cook for us,” the cook said. “One is a cauliflower soup, which essentially consists of boiled cauliflower florets, rice and lots of lemon juice, but the one I’ve included here is my favourite, Baba’s Domatesli Pirinç Çorbası (Dad’s Tomato & Rice Soup).
“This is not a recipe that has been passed down from my dad’s family, but one that my dad concocted using a couple of fresh ingredients from the fridge, and the rest from the store cupboard. It’s so simple, both in terms of ingredients and method, and my dad occasionally uses a can of chopped tomatoes in place of the fresh ones I use in my recipe. Rice is a key ingredient in most Cypriot soups and seasoning soups with lemon juice is fundamental to Cypriot cuisine, so do ensure you have some fresh lemon to hand when making this one.”
Meliz Burg’s tomato soup recipe
Ingredients (Serves 4)
- 200g Short-grain white rice
- 25g Fresh parsley – finely chopped
- 500ml Boiling water
- 50ml Olive oil
- 1.5 litres Cold water
- 2 tbsp Fresh lemon juice – plus extra to taste
- 1 tsp Black pepper
- ¾ tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Paprika
- ½ tsp Caster sugar
- 6 Large tomatoes
- 1 Vegetable stock cube
- 1 Large onion – finely chopped
Method
- Wash the rice in a sieve until the water runs clear and leave to drain. In a deep, heatproof bowl add the tomatoes and then carefully pour over enough boiling water to cover the fruit and leave for a couple of minutes. Remove the tomatoes from the bowl, peel off the skins and discard them, then finely chop the flesh.
- In a large pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat then add the onion. Allow the veg to cook for around 10-12 minutes until lightly caramelised. Meanwhile, dissolve the stock cube in the boiling water and top with cold water.
- Stirr in the parsley, paprika, and tomatoes into the caramelised onions and let everything ‘sizzle for a minute or two’. Now, it’s time to add the rice and stir well. Sprinkle in the sugar and gently pour in the stock before seasoning with salt and pepper.
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- Simmer the soup over a medium heat for around 10 minutes, making sure the rice is thoroughly cooked. Only add the lemon juice a couple of minutes before removing the pan from the heat.
- Serve with lots of crusty bread with butter and add a little more lemon juice depending on your preference. Et voila! A simple recipe that tastes amazing and requires minimal effort!
Are you a sucker for soup? We’ve got you sorted with a whole host of recipes, including Mary Berry’s deliciously smooth’ butternut squash soup recipe and this ‘perfect’ broccoli and cheddar soup topped with crispy bacon.
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