Seconds to the Rescue

This crazy change in weather has finally invaded my system. I feel like crap. Stuffed-up nose. Irritation in throat. Body droopy. Brain exhausted.

Luckily, this weekend, before sickness fell upon me, I spent all of Saturday afternoon taking care of twenty five pounds of “second” tomatoes. (My second seconds of the year.) It took me about an hour to cut all of the tomatoes up, placing 2/3 of the tomatoes in two roasting pans, and when my oven was full, dumping the rest in a tall pot with onion, 2 bay leaves and salt and pepper.

The tomatoes lucky enough to sit in a 400-degree oven for 3 hours tasted doubly delicious, having been reduced and intensified in flavor. I had no clue what I was going to make with all of the tomatoes so decided I’d just do one big pot of a thick soup/sauce and dumped the roasted tomatoes in with the simmering tomatoes.

I reserved a container-ful of chunky tomatoes and onions and then pureed (with an immersion blender) the rest for a creamy, saucy soup.

And while I was at first not eager to take on all of those tomatoes, I am now glad I have an easy meal to warm up while fighting off this cold.

Chunky Tomato Soup with Ricotta and Egg

In a small saucepan I warmed up the chunky tomato soup, stirred in a spoonful of ricotta, then created a dent and dropped in an egg. I lowered the heat, covered the pan and let the egg “poach” for 5-7 minutes. Once the egg was cooked I topped it with a few strands of fresh oregano.

(Recipe hat tip Eggs in Purgatory)