starter for any guest (Starters)

Member Name: memelalou

Product:	Starters
Date:	30/10/08 (174 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: tasty and suits almost everyone

Disadvantages: does take time to prepare

the starter you serve depends on who your serving it to, family, friends, your boss and the potiental work client or a snobby mothering law who thinks shopping at marks and spencer instead of harrods is ecconamising.
so i have given you i think a starter recipe that hopefully you will find works for any occasion.

roasted tomato and corriander soup with garlic crutons
serves 6 as a starter.
1.5 kg of tomatoes
1 1/2 pints of chicken or vegetable stock
a small red onion
3-4 slices of very thick bread, crusts removed and cut into chunky cubes.
12 slices of smoked streaky bacon
salt
pepper
200mls of single cream
fresh corriander
oil
garlic

preheat oven at 200oc
half the tomatoes and with a teaspoon remove seeds
get a large baking dish a lightly greese
put the tomatoes in the roasting tin skin side up and drissle with oil, sprinkle salt and pepper on the tomatoes, also peel and quarter the tomatoe and roast with the tomatoes
roast for around 15 mins or until the skins of the tomatoes are easily peeled
peel the tomatoes skins
blend 2/3 of the tomatoes and the onion for the soup base
chop the reminding tomatoes
in a large pan
add the tomatoes{blended and chunks}, add the stock, bring up to boil, and then simmer for 10-15 mins
while the soup is simmering on a griddle pan crisp the streaky bacon, put bacon to one side and put the juices from bacon in with the soup.
add the cream to the soup and a large handfull of roughly chopped corriander, stir, season to taste
get a frying pan and heat some oil til its very hot, and add 2 cloves of garlic crushed into the oil and add the chucks of bread, turn the crutons in the oil till goldern and crisp.
pour the finished soup into bowls, use any remaining cream for decoration, swiring some on the soup, sprinkle over a pinch of corriander, a little black pepper, now sprinkle over the crutons and 2 slices of the crisp bacon
serve

to make vegetarian, leave out the bacon and make sure use vegetable stock

Summary: delicous soup