Homemade tomato soup, as simple as it is, has never graced the insides of my pans. This is not due to some sort of prejudice against tomato soup, on the contrary, there are few things better than a hot bowl of tomato soup with a lovely grilled cheese toastie to accompany it when you are sick or not in the mood to cook. Honestly, I am not really sure why I have never made this before, but, I can assure you that this will become a more regular meal (even if only cooked one per week for a light lunch for a couple of days).

The story behind the roasted tomato soup: Because D and I are leaving on a family vacation for a family wedding in DC on Thursday, we did not want to go to the store to buy any food. This ended up working out quite well because no one was going to be at the lake so there were a ton of tomatoes and fruit that needed to be eaten and they came home with us. There were six large tomatoes and one and half pints of cherry tomatoes. So I said well I can make little ears one night and make bruschetta for lunch for a couple days. So last night comes around, I had switched the plan to little ears that night and tomato soup and grilled cheese the next night. Of course in Andiland, plans are frustratingly fluid and Little Ears night rolls around but my stomach, like it regretfully is prone to, was acting up quite mercilessly. I decided I just wanted some soup and not any filling pasta (that I would inevitably eat too much of). Ergo, I began trying my hand at tomato soup whilst D obliged me in making a large bowl of mango salsa (unrelated meal – I had bought the stuff to make it on Sunday and needed to make it so the food would not spoil). I also decided to forgo the grilled cheeses – in an effort to maintain some sort of session-weight-loss-get-my-2010-body-back diet. I did however pull some Rosemary Sourdough bread out of the freezer, grilled it and gave it a good spread of basil pesto – sorry, I just can’t have soup without bread no matter what diet I am on. I thought that the soup was fantastic and D wholeheartedly agreed – not surprising given his love of all things roasted tomato. I do fear that I will be making this (and the accompanying mess) once a week during the tomato months aka summer. You can make this as healthy or as unhealthy as you choose. Personally, I do not care for loads of cream (though loads of butter is fine by me) as I think it diminishes the sweetness of the summer tomatoes and I have issues eating dairy (and have begun using vegan products in lieu of dairy in many instances).

Notes of interest: I had six or seven (cannot remember for the life of me) larger tomatoes (cluster vine type and size) and I supplemented those with one and a half pints of cherry tomatoes. Feel free to use more large tomatoes and omit the cherry tomatoes – I was just using up what I needed to. You can also supplement fresh tomatoes with jarred roasted tomatoes, but I can promise roasting the fresh tomatoes will yield a better tasting product. In a pinch, I won’t hesitate to use stored tomatoes, but I will know the difference. Another note: feel free to roast a whole head of garlic and then squeeze the amazingly sweet garlicky paste out into the soup once they are done. I did not want to put the effort in for this but it would be amazing. Final note: Feel free to skip the shaved cheese topping on the soup and make grilled cheese or cheese toasts.

Roasted Tomato Soup – Serves three to four

Seven cluster tomatoes on the vine, halved, cored and seeded
One and a half pints of Cherry or Grape tomatoes
One Vidalia onion, diced
A couple shallots, sliced (optional)
8 cloves garlic, minced plus 2 cloves garlic, sliced paper-thin, to use for garnish
2 tablespoons Herbs de Provence (can sub Italian seasoning)
A couple of glugs of garlic olive oil
Salt and Black Pepper, generous amount but to taste
3 to 4 tablespoons Crushed Red Pepper, to taste
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock (I used chicken)
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups fresh basil leaves, chopped plus six leaves julienened for garnish
1/4 cup shredded or shaved Pecorino for garnish
Ten Thyme Sprigs, One Rosemary Sprig – made into a bouquet garni (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 400. Combine tomatoes with garlic olive oil, Herbs de Provence, salt and Pepper, garlic, and onion. Roast, with the inside of the tomato facing upwards, for about 40 minutes.

Heat butter and a dash of olive oil in a stock pot. Once heated, add entire contents of roasting pan (including juices) to the stock pot. Add a pinch of salt, crushed red pepper, chicken stock, cherry tomatoes, bouquet garni, some fresh ground pepper and let simmer for about 20 minutes. Add  seasoning to taste. Stir well. Using an immersion blender (or food processor if you do not have an immersion blender), puree the soup until smooth. Most people will tell you to now strain the soup, but I like the rustic consistency of the soup as it is without straining it – plus I did not want to make the effort for this as it was already 9:30 pm. Let the soup simmer for a few minutes longer and heat a good amount of oil (enough to cover the paper-thin garlic) in a small fry pan. Once hot, fry the garlic chips until golden brown, remove from pan and place on a paper towel to absorb excess oil. Meanwhile on a griddle, or in a Panini maker, place two slices of buttered Rosemary Sourdough bread and grill until golden brown. Remove and spread with basil pesto (optional).

Spoon soup into bowls and top with shaved cheese, julienned basil, and garlic chips (and an optional dollop of goat cheese or creme fraiche). Serve with grilled pesto toast.