Roasted Tomato Soup

On Friday I made my very first homemade tomato soup.  There was a recipe I have been sitting on for quite a while, and since I only had to work half a day, I decided to make it.  On Thursday at the local farmer’s market I had bought a couple pounds of tomatoes that were perfect for making this soup.

Here’s what you need:

2 lbs of tomatoes (give or take)

1 small onion
1 carrot
Several stalks of celery
1 quart vegetable stock
Butter
Olive Oil
 

First you need to roast the tomatoes.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  I had 2 lbs of organic tomatoes that were on the smallish side (similar in size to Roma tomatoes), very ripe, and also a bag of grape tomatoes to add some extra flavor.  Cut the tomatoes in half (no the grape – they’re too tiny), then toss in olive oil to coat.  I tossed in some balsamic vinegar too for a little extra flavor, but plan to try it without next time.

Lay the tomatoes on a baking sheet, preferably lined with parchment paper for easier clean-up and so the tomatoes slide off when done.  Make sure the tomatoes are evenly distributed and in one layer.  Put in the oven and roast for 30-40 minutes.  They should be tender when they come out.

While the tomatoes roast up, finely chop the celery, onion and carrot.  In a large pot, toss in a couple tablespoons of butter and drizzle a couple tablespoons of olive oil in the pot and dump in the chopped veggies in the pot.  On medium-low heat, sauté the veggies for about 15 minutes.  Add a little oil or butter if you feel it’s drying out.

When the tomatoes come out of the oven, dump them into the pot with the sautéed veggies.  Pour in the vegetable stock and add a couple of cups of water (more if you want to thin it out a little more).  Bring the mixture to a slow boil and reduce the heat to simmer for about 30 minutes.  Add about 1 or 2 teaspoons of salt, and as much black pepper to your taste, and mix in.  Remove from the heat. 

Using an immersion blender (you can use a food processor or regular blender if you don’t have one) and start pureeing the tomatoes and veggies.  Pull the blender out periodically to remove the build-up of the skins, etc. (Believe me, this is easier than trying to peel the tomatoes before roasting). 

Once you’ve got it well pureed, you can start straining the soup through a metal kitchen strainer to get any extra solids out so you have a smooth, creamy soup.  If you prefer it a little chunky, you can leave it as is, but I don’t recommend it. 

Put the strained soup back into your big pot and turn the heat back up to medium.  You can add a little more salt and pepper to taste at this point.  In about 5 minutes, the soup is hot again and ready to plate up and serve.

For my first attempt, I found the soup amazing.  It was better than what I’ve had at many restaurants.  You can garnish with a drizzle of olive oil, a dollop of sour cream, or whatever you fancy.  You can also make this soup completely vegan by omitting the butter and using more oil.

Bon Appetit!