How D'you Like Them (Love)Apples

Whilst on the topic of soups, I was cleaning up the random mountain of papers on my desk the other day when I came across a recipe scrawled on the back of a primary school maths exercise sheet (from my wife's scrap-paper pile, no doubt). The recipe was one I copied down hurriedly over the phone from my mum whilst planning an entry for a Soup Cook Off with some friends of mine.
I'm glad I found the piece of paper now, as it's a recipe I was really happy with and think it's time to file it in a more permanent, and more organised, medium. The recipe itself claimed to be for Love-Apple Soup. This is the only time I've ever heard tomatoes referred to as Love-Apples.  With a few on the fly additions to the ingredients list, I came up with the following recipe for: Cream of Chill Tomato Soup.

serves....plenty
Ingredients

700g tomatoes, peeled and chopped

125g butter

3 sliced carrots

60g chopped bacon

120g flour

2L water

2 bay leaves

1 large handful of basil, corsely chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 - 2 tsp  cayenne pepper
1/4 - 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

salt, pepper, and caster sugar to taste

Method

1. Melt butter over a medium heat, add carrots and bacon and sweat them in a covered pot for 5 - 10 minutes
2. Add flour and cook for 2 - 3 minutes to make a rue
3. Remove from heat, add tomatoes, water, basil, garlic, bay leaves, and cayenne pepper
4. Bring to the boil and season to taste, then cook for 1 hour on a low heat, skimming the surface when necessary.
5. Blend in batches and serve with a dash of cream, some freshly ground pepper, and crusty bread.

I absolutely love this recipe, and it went down a treat in the Soup Cook Off, earning a second place behind an amazing French Onion Soup (which was the inspiration for the recipe I came up with).