Cream of Tomato Soup

Tomato Cream with Basil from the South of France

The tomato cream from Rue Traversette is a vegetarian spread made from fresh and dried tomatoes, refined with basil, honey, and a pinch of garam masala. This is not factory-produced, pureed tomato paste, but rather artisanal work from Stéphane Strobl's small cannery in the Languedoc, where vegetables are turned into small dishes in a jar.

Tomato cream from Rue Traversette brings the South of France to your bread: a good 80 percent fresh tomato, plus 11 percent sun-dried tomatoes for depth, olive oil, a spoonful of honey, and the warm spice of garam masala. Stéphane and his team take a classic and reimagine it in their own tongue-in-cheek way—the result is a tomato spread with character, both fruity and spicy at the same time. In France, it is called tomate séchée et fines herbes, a little jar of the South of France for your pantry.

Fruity, spicy, and a spoonful of honey

In the jar, the tomato cream glows a deep red and smells of sun-ripened tomatoes, fresh basil, and a subtle spiciness that you wouldn't expect in a tomato spread.

First you taste the sweetness of ripe tomatoes, then the dried ones add their concentrated depth, before garam masala and basil provide a warm finish. The honey rounds everything off without making it sweet. Fruity, spicy, full-bodied. This is a far cry from the bland uniformity of tomato paste from a tube.

From aperitif bread to pasta

As a vegetarian spread, this tomato cream joins our vegetable spreads and creams and is the perfect start to any apéro on toast, crackers, or fresh baguette.

When heated, the cream shows another side: stirred into pasta, dolloped on fried fish or chicken, or served as a companion to aged cheese, mozzarella, or mild goat cheese. It likes savory pairings—on a baked potato just as much as on a weekend cheese board.

On a warm crostini with a slice of goat cheese and a basil leaf, a spoonful of the cream almost becomes a small appetizer. It is a wonder with potatoes, a treat with pasta, and it works surprisingly well in the morning alongside jam and cheese.

From the small cannery in the Languedoc

In Saint-André-de-Sangonis, right in the middle of the Hérault vineyards, Stéphane Strobl has been preserving the bounty of the vegetable garden and herb patch since 2005. He describes his cuisine as taking a classic and giving it a twist without bending it out of shape.

Stéphane started out selling corks to local winemakers—he owes his Bavarian surname to his father and his passion for cooking to his French mother. We discovered his spreads over 15 years ago in a wine bar in Montpellier, where they were served on small pieces of bread with a glass of Languedoc wine. We drove out to visit him, liked him immediately, and added his jars to our selection—becoming the first to bring Stéphane's spreads to Germany.

Back then, three people worked in a tiny garage that was cleaner and tidier than any we had ever seen. Today, a few streets away stands a cannery built in 2015, where a team of ten reimagines classic recipes with a wink, from "Tartine pour homme" to "Tartine jolies fesses." The care and the signature style remain the same. You can taste it.

Stir once so the oil reintegrates

Once opened, the tomato cream will keep for a few days in the fridge. Stir before serving so the olive oil reintegrates with the pulp, and bring to the table at room temperature—that is when the basil and spices shine best. If you would like to try more, you can find a good dozen other vegetarian spreads from Rue Traversette alongside this tomato cream.