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Chilled Tomato Soup with Tarragon Crème Fraîche.
© Petrina Tinslay

Chilled Tomato Soup with Tarragon Crème Fraîche

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  • ACTIVE: 20 MIN
  • TOTAL TIME: 2 HRS 20 MIN
  • SERVINGS: 6
  • •MAKE-AHEAD
  • •VEGETARIAN

Supersweet tomatoes will make this cold soup extra-delicious. But to enhance the flavor of even less-than-perfect produce, Melissa Rubel Jacobson adds tomato paste, which has a rich, concentrated taste.

  1. 4 pounds tomatoes, quartered and seeded
  2. 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
  3. 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  4. 1/4 cup tomato paste
  5. 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  6. 2 teaspoons sugar
  7. Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
  8. 1/2 cup crème fraîche
  9. 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped tarragon, plus tarragon leaves for garnish
  1. Working in a blender in 2 batches, puree the tomatoes with the vegetable broth, olive oil, tomato paste, red wine vinegar and sugar until very smooth. Transfer to a bowl, season with salt and pepper and refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours.
  2. In a small bowl, mix the crème fraîche with the chopped tarragon and season with pepper. Ladle the soup into bowls. Top with a dollop of the crème fraîche, garnish with the tarragon leaves and serve.
Make Ahead The soup can be refrigerated for up to 1 day. The tarragon crème fraîche can be refrigerated for up to 2 days; bring to room temperature before serving.