Green Tomato Soup With Bacon And Brioche Croutons Recipes

GREEN TOMATO AND BACON SOUP

Steps:

• Place bacon in a stock pot over medium-low heat; cook and stir until bacon begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir onion and garlic into bacon; cook and stir until onion is tender, about 10 minutes. Add green tomatoes, vegetable broth, celery salt, bay leaf, and black pepper to bacon-onion mixture; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until tomatoes are tender, about 40 minutes.

GREEN TOMATO SOUP WITH BACON AND BRIOCHE CROUTONS

Steps:

• Melt butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, lightly crush the coriander, either with a mortar and pestle or side of a knife. Add it to pot along with garlic and sauté for 3 minutes longer.
• Stir in tomatoes, stock, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil; immediately reduce heat to medium-low and simmer soup until tomatoes have fallen apart, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, fry bacon in a skillet until crisp. Use a slotted spoon to transfer bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate. Return skillet to medium heat. Add brioche to bacon fat in pan and toss to coat well. Toast, tossing occasionally, until croutons are golden, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
• Using an immersion blender (or puréeing in batches in a regular blender), purée soup until smooth.
• Return soup to medium heat and stir in crème fraîche if desired, dill and honey. Cook until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Taste and add more salt or honey or both if desired. Ladle soup into individual serving bowls; crumble bacon over top and garnish with croutons.

BRIOCHE CROUTONS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Slice the bread about 3/4-inch thick. Cut off the crusts and then cut the slices in 3/4-inch dice. You should have 6 to 8 cups of croutons.
• Place the croutons on a sheet pan and toss them with the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, tossing once, until they're nicely browned on all sides. Cool to room temperature.

BACON-BRIOCHE CROUTONS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the brioche in a mixing bowl. In a cast-iron skillet or other heavy ovenproof skillet, cook the bacon over medium-low heat for about 3 minutes, until most of the fat has rendered but the bacon hasn't gotten too brown or crispy. Turn off the heat, add the butter to the pan, and swirl the pan until the butter is fully melted. Pour the bacon with the fat into the mixing bowl with the brioche, sprinkle with the salt and pepper, and toss to coat evenly. Spread the croutons across a baking sheet.
• Bake the croutons, stirring every 2 to 3 minutes, until golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. (Note that brioche will toast up a slightly darker color than some other types of bread because of its sugar and egg content.) The croutons can be made up to 2 hours in advance and rewarmed in the oven just before serving.