This is simplicity itself, intense and delicious, and can be used as the liquid base for any savoury dish requiring a rich tomatoey flavour. I bought loads of tomatoes on the market at the weekend, far too many to use for anything else, so what better to make the sort of soup we used to make before commercial alternatives made us forget how to do things that are simple and tasty.
Pop a stack of tomatoes in a saucepan with a slug of olive oil, sea salt, black pepper, sprig of thyme, teaspoon of sugar and a little boiled water. Bring to the boil, then put on to simmer until reduced by half. Then strain the contents into a bowl, pressing the tomato pulp into the liquid until you’ve extracted all the valuable tomato juice. Sorted!