Tomato Soup

This is a German recipe, that I modified, from the internet www.chefkoch.de

Ingredients:
1 kg (2 Lbs)Tomatoes, diced
1 small Onions, diced
2 cloves Garlice
3 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
1 Tablespoon Basil, dried
1 Tablespoon Oregano, dried
1/2 teaspoon Thyme, dried
1/2 teaspoon Marjoran, dried
1/2 teaspoon Rosemary, dried and ground
750mL (3 Cups) of Beef Stock
2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
1 Tablespoon Gin*
Salt
Pepper
4 Tablespoons Crème Fraiche

Directions:
In a large pot sauté the onions and garlic in the vegetable oil until the onions are soft. Add the tomatoes and all the dried spices and cook in the pot for 15 minutes with the lid on. Then pour in the beef stock and let cook for another 5 minutes. Then take off the heat and put entire soup into a food processor or blender and purée. Then return to pot and to medium heat and add the tomato paste and the gin. Stir until completely mixed in.

Once the soup is in individual serving bowls add 1 Tablespoon of Crème Fraiche to each bowl and stir in. This will make the soup much thicker.

*Gin is an absolutely necessary ingredient for this recipe. You can leave it out, but it will just not taste right. I heard you can also use Sherry, but I have never tried it.

Serves 4