Spiced Wintertime Tomato Soup with Hard Boiled Eggs
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Makes
4 to 6 servings 1x
Time
30 minutes
Scale
Ingredients
2 large or 3 small scallions
2 28-ounce cans whole tomatoes
4 eggs (or more if you’d like)
Ice as needed
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 1/2 cups full-fat coconut milk (or 1 14-ounce can; or use cream or half- and- half),
2 tablespoons curry or chili powder
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt and pepper
Instructions
Trim the scallions and cut them crosswise to separate the white and green parts. Thinly slice both, keeping them separate. Empty the cans of tomatoes and their juice into a blender; use a soft spatula to scrape in whatever remains inside the cans, too. Start at a low speed, then crank the machine to high and puree until they become thick juice.
Find a pot with a tight-fitting lid that will hold all the eggs you want to cook with several inches above them. Put the eggs in the pot, then fill the pot with enough water to cover the eggs by about 2 inches. Bring to a gentle boil over medium-high heat. As soon as the water is bubbling, remove the pot from the heat, cover, and set a timer. For medium-boiled “jammy eggs”, go for 8; and for hard-boiled eggs with firm yolks let them sit 10 minutes (11 if you like them sort of chalky). Fill a medium bowl with ice water. When the eggs are cooked how you want them, use a slotted spoon to transfer them to the ice bath.
While the eggs cook, put the tomato paste and 1/4 cup of the coconut milk (or cream or half-and-half) in a large pot over medium heat and whisk to combine. When the mixture sizzles, add the scallion whites, curry (or chili) powder, sugar, a pinch of salt, and some pepper, and whisk until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the puréed tomatoes and raise the heat so the liquid bubbles gently. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the soup thickens and darkens, about 15 minutes. Now’s a good time to remove the eggs from the ice bath and peel them.
When the soup is thickened, stir in the remaining coconut milk (or cream or half-and-half) and wait for the soup to bubble gently again. Then adjust the heat so the soup simmers and cook, stirring occasionally until it’s the thickness you want, 2 to 5 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Divide the soup among bowls or mugs; halve the eggs, float them on top of each serving, and garnish with the scallion greens and an extra sprinkle of salt and pepper.