Roasted Tomato Soup
Roasted Tomato Soup — The Ultimate Comfort Food No Matter the Season.
Every spring I plant too many tomato plants. I go to the nursery and feel like a kid in a candy shop — I want to try this variety and that heirloom and so on, until I have more than 18 tomato plants in my cart. Then I attempt to weed out the ones I don’t need, but that’s like trying to pick a favorite child, so they all come home and get planted. I keep telling myself that if it’s a bad harvest year, at least I’ll have a few plants. In the end, I typically end up with pounds and pounds of tomatoes.
This isn’t really a problem since there are so many things to make with fresh garden tomatoes like salsa, chutneys, sauces, jams and, of course, soup.
There is nothing more comforting than a bowl of tomato soup. Tomato soup is really the epitome of comfort food, in my opinion. There are many different recipes out there, but it always comes down to the tomatoes. If you have good tomatoes, you’ll have good soup. I’ve even found a way to make delicious soup from store-bought tomatoes in the middle of winter. Fresh or store-bought, the trick is roasting the tomatoes first! Roasting adds caramelization (if the tomatoes aren’t too watery) and it can add the additional depth needed for great soup.
This recipe is so easy and you can easily double or triple it. Like many soups, it reheats easily and makes great leftovers — sometimes the flavor is even better the next day after it has relaxed. I love to serve my Tomato soup in small votive candle glasses at large parties, having comfort food at a party always relaxes people. This is the perfect recipe to use up those last tomatoes of the season and my tomato soup makes a delicious dinner as the evenings turn chillier.
- 4 pounds tomatoes — quartered
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 4 cloves garlic — minced
- 1 shallot — diced
- ½ cup basil leaves
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Core and quarter the tomatoes; if they are large heirlooms cut them into eights so that all tomatoes are similar size. Divide between two baking sheets and drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss so the tomatoes are evenly coated. Place in the oven and roast for 30 minutes; rotate the roasting pans ½ way through cooking.
- Once tomatoes are roasted, they will have released juices and some caramelization will have taken place, depending on the amount of water in the tomatoes. Remove from oven and let rest.
- In a large soup pot, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat and add the diced shallot and minced garlic. Stir and cook until translucent and tender (lower the heat if the mixture begins to burn), approximately 5 minutes.
- Add all of the tomatoes and juices to the pan; stir in basil and broth. Bring just to a boil and lower heat to a simmer for 20 minutes.
- With an immersion blender, blend the entire mixture till you have a smooth consistency. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can blend the mixture in batches in a regular blender.
- Taste to check for balance of seasonings; add more salt and pepper if needed.
- Drizzle in cream and stir to combine.
- Serve with grilled cheese sandwiches for classic comfort food, or serve in small glasses at your next party!
