Roast Tomato and Arbroath Smokie Soup with Crab Dumplings

The following recipe was produced by Dundee College Catering and Hospitality Management Section for Dundee Flower and Food Festival Recipe Booklet.

Ingredients
1 Arbroath Smokie (boned and skinned)
4 large tomatoes
4 tbspns olive oil
1 tspn castor sugar
2 tspns fresh thyme (roughly chopped)
1 shallot or 1 tbspn finely chopped onion
1 tbspn chopped white of leek
1 tspn balsamic vinegar
Juice of ¼ lemon
400gms can of peeled tomatoes
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 tbspn tomato puree
½ litre chicken stock
½ tspn paprika
40 gms butter
¼ pint double cream
50 gms unsmoked bacon

Crab Dumplings
100 gms dry mashed potato or 1 cooked baking potato with flesh scooped out
1 egg yolk
2 tbspns fresh white crab meat
1 tbspn plain flour
¼ tspn mild Dijon mustard

Method
Drizzle the olive oil on the base of a roasting tray, cut the tomatoes in half and place onto the oil flat side down with the castor sugar and the chopped thyme. Place the tray in a moderate oven (175C) for approximately 20 minutes. When soft and roasted, remove from the oven and pour the vinegar over whilst the tomatoes are still hot.

Melt the butter in a thick-bottomed pot, add the shallot, leeks, garlic and bacon and cook over a low heat for 2 - 3 minutes. Add everything else in the recipe (except the cream), including the roasted tomatoes with their juices. Bring to the boil and simmer slowly for approximately 15 - 20 minutes.

Pour the soup into a food processor or liquidiser and \"blitz\" until smooth. Strain the soup through a fine strainer, reheat, season and add the double cream.

For the crab dumplings, mix all the ingredients together with a little seasoning into a thick mixture. Place a pot of boiling water onto the boil with plenty of salt. Shape the potato mixture into small balls with a little flour and drop them into the water, a few at a time, wait until they float up to the surface again and remove them with a slotted spoon. (Do not leave the dumplings in the water too long as they will disintegrate).

Serve the potato dumplings floating on top of the soup and garnish with a little flat parsley.