i don't know...

• like 1 kg of cheap tomatoes
• like a half tin of chopped tomatoes (200 g?), if available
• some amount of tomato paste (??)
• about 1 red onion, roughly chopped
• two white potatoes, cubed
• 2? sticks of celery, diced
• 1 carrot
• about 1 tsp sugar
• whatever amount of salt, white pepper
• cream / sour cream / creme fraiche / whatev
• fresh basil

1. Chop everything up and chuck it in a pot together, minus the cream and basil. None of the veg needs to be peeled, just rinsed / scrubbed
   
   About 1 kg tomatoes
   Some chopped tomatoes, if available
   Tomato paste
   1 red onion
   2 white potatoes
   2 sticks celery
   1 carrot
   1 tsp sugar
   Salt
   White pepper
   
2. Bring to a simmer and allow things to soften for a bit, then take off the heat and blend till smooth
3. Just. cook it i guess? Simmer till done. Taste often and add seasoning / salt / sweetener / etc as needed
4. Before eating, add cream and shred some fresh basil leaves. Eat with a nice buttered crusty roll or ciabatta or toasted bagel or something
   
   Cream or similar
   Fresh basil leaves
   

• Amounts as written made about 2 L of soup.
• This is JUST SLIGHTLY TOO MUCH for the biggest pot i own. However, as it is soup, these amounts are all APPROXIMATE. Just chuck everything in a pot and vibe
• First time making this was incredibly good - i think the secret is absolutely do not skimp on tomato paste. I used the cheapest tomatoes on this beautiful earth (total of 12 - skinned 6 and left 6 fully intact), did not add any seasoning except for salt and pepper, and no extra sweetener was needed.
• Tinned tomatoes are not 100% necessary, i only used these because i had a half tin leftover from making pasta or something. Definitely does not hurt though
• Basil and cream afterwards are also optional but highly recommended
• by the way the trick for skinning tomatoes is cover them in just-boiled water and leave them for a minute or two (ideally skins should split), then drain and cover immediately with cold tapwater. Skins should have split or at the very least should be very easy to split with a thumbnail or something

• Probably would also be good to add garlic? Saw a recipe that says to roast the tomatoes and a few cloves garlic before adding
• 2nd attempt (21/10/2024): fried onion till soft, then added 2 cloves minced garlic, before adding everything else as above; + 1 carrot; left out tinned tomatoes; + 250 g red lentils. Had to split between 2 pots because it made over 2L and would not fit. Not super flavourful but should be fine with some extra salt, and it is like mcdonalds milkshake thick. Perhaps limit lentil amount to like 100 g or less