Score an X on the end of the tomato. Place the tomatoes into boiling water for 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until the skin of the tomato begins to curl where you made the X. Place the tomatoes in an ice bath or under cool water until you can handle them. Using your knife or hands, peel the skin from the tomatoes. Discard the skin and set the tomatoes aside.

Quarter the peeled tomatoes and scoop out the majority of the seeds. Cut the onions into a large dice. To a large pot over medium heat, add the olive oil. Sauté the onions until soft. When the onions are soft, add in the garlic, half of the fresh herbs and salt. Sauté for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, bay leaves, chicken or vegetable stock, tomato puree, sherry vinegar, and cooked peeled potatoes fine dice and season with pepper & salt. Let simmer on a medium heat for 30 minutes. Remove the bay leaves.

Add 50 to 100% of your soup to a blender, depending on your desired consistency. To the blender, add the remaining fresh herbs and season to taste.

To serve, spoon the soup into a bowl and top with a poached egg (see my note about pre-preparing the eggs. Add a slice of crusty bread or croutons. I served mine with chopped chives & blended sun-dried tomatoes with olive oil and spooned them on top. Feel free to be creative.

There you have it, a twist on tomato soup that is bound to please.