Roasted Tomato Soup

Inspired by...changing seasons

This is a perfect recipe for using up your summer tomatoes and keeping you warm as the cooler fall air comes through.  I say "cooler" because it's still in the mid-80's here, but each day is feeling a little more like fall.  So I felt like it was an acceptable time to start making soup again.  

I love this recipe because it's quick, without too many ingredients, and so flavorful.  It will be a nice easy lunch to pack for the next couple of days too.  Add a slice or two of fresh mozzarella or dip in some grilled cheese, and you've got yourself a meal in my book!

Most of the cooking time is for roasting the vegetables.  After that you just have to throw them in a pot with some cooking broth for a bit more time and blend it all together.  So just make sure you have a blender of some sort for the last step (like an immersion blender - my favorite! but a regular one should work too).  Enjoy!

Recipe
Adapted from Strudel and Cream
​Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 pounds of tomatoes
• 1 large onion 
• 3 cloves of garlic
• ~2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
• 1 bay leaf

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper for easier clean up.
2. Cut tomatoes into smaller pieces.  Depending on the size and type of tomato, you can half or quarter them or cut into up to 8 pieces.  For example, I halved my campari tomatoes, but beefsteaks would be cut into 8 pieces.
3. Peel and roughly chop onion into chunks.
4. Peel and roughly chop the garlic.
5. Spread the vegetables on a large baking sheet and then sprinkle with olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme.  Mix so that everything is evenly coated.
6. Try to arrange the vegetables so that the skins of the tomatoes are face-down.
7. Roast vegetables for approximately 40 minutes.
8. Transfer vegetables and all of their juices into a large pot.  Add broth and bay leaf.
9. Simmer for about 20 minutes.
10. Remove bay leaf.
11. Blend the soup to your desired smoothness.  Add extra seasoning as needed.
12. Serve with sliced mozzarella and crusty bread as desired.