Basil Soup with Tomato and Mozzarella

• Peel and finely dice the shallots and garlic cloves. Sauté in olive oil until translucent. Deglaze with white wine. Pour in the poultry stock and reduce the liquid by half over medium heat. Wash the basil stalks and shake dry, pluck the leaves from the stems and set aside. Add the stalks to the soup.

Basil paste

• For the basil paste, roast the pine nuts in a pan without adding any fat until golden. Sort the leaf spinach, wash it and blanch it in plenty of boiling salted water for about 10 seconds. Rinse in ice water and drain well. Then squeeze it out very firmly and chop it up roughly. Finely puree the olive oil with the basil leaves, pine nuts and spinach. Season the paste with salt, pepper and chilli and set aside. Pour the cream into the soup and bring it to the boil again. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees.

filled tomatoes

• Peel the tomatoes. Cut off a narrow lid at the base of the stem and carefully hollow out the tomatoes. Drain the mozzarella well, dice it and place in a bowl. Chop the olives, mix with the mozzarella and olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the hollowed out tomatoes in an ovenproof dish, fill with the mozzarella and olive mixture and put the lids back on. Bake the tomatoes in the oven on the middle rack for 5 - 8 minutes.
• In the meantime, remove the basil stalks from the soup, add the basil paste and puree the soup finely. Cut the butter into small cubes and gradually mix in. Season the soup with salt and pepper, arrange in deep plates and place one cooked tomato in each.