recipe: roasted tomato soup

With Fall in full swing, all I have wanted for the past few weeks is comforting food. And when I think comfort, I think hearty, warm soups…served with incredible sandwiches.

I know tomatoes season is essentially over, so I wanted to take a stab at making a soup with them before the quality of grocery store tomatoes diminished substantially. With this in mind, I set out on a search for the perfect tomato soup. I have to admit that I was quite nervous. I’ve only recently learned to enjoy tomatoes (I absolutely HATED them as a child/teen/young adult), so I was very determined to find a recipe that included flavors beyond just tomatoes. And then I realized my love of roasted tomatoes, so I searched for that.

And let me tell you: this recipe is the score of the Fall!

Roasting the tomatoes helps to reduce the juices, delivering concentrated and elevated flavors. Throw in some onions, garlic, paprika and chicken stock and you have one AMAZING, MUST-MAKE-STAT soup.

This was another recipe where E and I just sat in silence while eating. This soup deserved our undivided attention…and that is exactly what we gave it!

Roasted Tomato Soup (print recipe)

Serves 4 as main course (serves 8 as side) - Prep Time: 15 minutes - Cook Time: 2 hours - Adapted from Sprouted Kitchen

Ingredients

2 lbs of Fresh Tomatoes, cut into wedges (I used roughly 8 tomatoes of different varieties & sizes)

1 large Yellow Onion, cut into wedges

3 Garlic Cloves

2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 Tsp. Sea Salt

Fresh Ground Pepper

1 Tbsp. Chopped Parsley

3 Cups Low Sodium Vegetable or Chicken Broth

3 Tbsp. Organic Tomato Paste

1 Tbsp. Paprika

2 Tsp. Dried Oregano

1/4 Cup Heavy Cream or Half and Half

Fresh Basil for garnish

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

(Tip: if you’re a little “tomato-afraid” like me, remove the seedy parts of some of the tomatoes when cutting. This isn’t a must do, but it helps the soup have fewer seeds and be less runny.)

In a large bowl coat the tomatoes with the olive oil, salt & pepper. Spread onto a large baking sheet. Hide the garlic cloves inside the tomatoes to prevent burning. Roast for roughly 40 minutes.
After the tomatoes have roasted for 40 minutes, remove from the oven, add the onion & parsley to the pan and toss using a spatula or spoon. Place back into the oven and roast for another 30 minutes. The tomatoes should be about half their original size when ready. Remove and cool.
Over medium heat, warm the broth and stir in the tomato paste to dissolve. Add all the ingredients from the roasting pan into the broth and let simmer for 15 minutes.
Using an immersion blender, puree the soup (while still in the cooking pot). You can also pour the soup into a food processor or blender. I stopped pureeing when the soup reached a soft, creamy texture.
Stir in paprika, dried oregano and heavy cream. Taste for salt and pepper. Garnish with fresh basil, and serve with a delicious sandwich!

This soup is definitely a time investment, so make sure you set aside enough time to give the tomatoes time to roast. And don’t worry, I’ll be posting the fantastic sandwich recipe tomorrow!