Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

It's that time of year. The weather is a little nippy out and what better time than to enjoy some homemade soup. Not stuff from a box or a can. Tomato Soup and Grill Cheese. Mmmm. Mmmm. Mmmm. Classic combination. I wish I had thought of making grill cheese the other day when I made the soup. Instead I had made bread pizza with wheat French bread (that was store bought ;-) ).

Tomato soup is so classic.. and roasting the tomatoes with olive oil and fresh garlic really brings out the tomatoey-ness.. sweetness and the acidity. This one is a definite keeper.  And it so hapenned I had a pound or two of tomatoes in my fridge.  It takes a bit of time to roast the tomatoes and to let them cool, but the end result is so worth it.

Rachael (of Rachael Ray fame) would say "You ain't getting that flavour from out of a can".

Roasted Tomato Soup

(Adapted from Ina Garten's recipe)

Ingredients-

-  2 lbs roma tomatoes (that's what I had) cut in half- Vine tomatoes would be great for this too
-  3 garlic cloves cut in half
- Olive oil
-  Basil, preferably fresh
-  Dried thyme
-  Vegetable stock
-  1/2 medium onion
- 1/2 tsp red pepper/chill flakes  (optional)

Directions-

0. Preheat oven to 400 F

1.  Toss the tomatoes and garlic cloves in olive oil (2 or 3 good tablespoons), season with salt and pepper

2.  Roast for about 30-35 minutes.

The come out looking sparkly and begging to be pureed

3.  While tomatoes are roasting, sautee the onions for 5-7 minutes on medium heat. Use a large soup pot or dutch oven.

4. Add the tomatoes to the pot and add thyme, basil and chilli flakes. Save some basil for garnish!

5. Add a couple cups of vegetable stock and some water (depends on how thin you like your soup) and simmer for 10 minutes.

6. Blend the soup mixture.  Garnish with basil and some freshly ground black pepper.

Eat up!! (with or without slurping LOL)

Variations

- Toss roasted goodness over some pasta

- Add a bunch of red or green chillis, puree and turn into a spicy Indian-ized pickle.