What on earth could be better than a bowl of tomato soup when you're feeling cold and tired, or puny as is my case. This pot of red glory showcases gorgeous red Roma tomatoes that were halved then coated with oil, salt and pepper and placed on wire racks over a sheet pan.
They roasted in a hot oven for an hour before hitting a stock pot full of sauteed shallots, chicken stock and cayenne pepper. A recipe from the Neely's of Food Network fame, I added my touch by increasing the cayenne pepper a smidge and doubled the tomato paste too. I also took the liberty of throwing some dried herbs into the mix since my only surviving live ones at the moment are 2 kinds of thyme, rosemary, parsley and tarragon. Come to think of it, the tarragon would have worked quite well too.
After the pot simmered for 15 minutes the Big Guy took over and used the boat motor to blend the soup into the lovely smooth elixir you see here, then he added a cup of cream to the pot, took it all of the heat and let it percolate a bit while he whipped up some Ham and Swiss Panini sandwiches to go with the soup.
It's so darn good it had us both moaning with delight. Who needs Campbell's when you've got the makings in your own kitchen. I mean really!
Roasted Tomato Soup (adapted from The Neelys at foodnetwork.com)
3 pounds fresh roma (plum) tomatoes, halved lengthwise
Olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons butter
4 large shallots, finely minced
1/4 cup tomato paste
4 cups low sodium chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon cayenne (I used 3/4 and it was quite spicy)
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1 cup heavy cream
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place halved tomatoes into a large bowl and toss with salt, pepper and enough olive oil to coat well. Remove tomatoes to a sheet pan topped with wire racks, placing tomatoes cut side up. Sprinkle with sugar. Roast in middle of oven until tomatoes are brown and very tender – about 1 hour. Remove from oven and cool.
Heat butter in large stock pot over medium heat. Add shallots and sauté until transparent. Add tomato paste, chicken stock, cayenne, basil and Italian seasoning and mix well to combine. Add roasted tomatoes, bring pot to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove pot from heat and using an immersion blender, puree soup until smooth. Return soup to a boil then remove from heat, stir in heavy cream. Cover pot and let sit to allow residual heat to warm soup without curdling cream. Serves 6.
A year ago - Lemon Creme Brulee
And for the record I got to use the boat-motor unsupervised
Posted by: Big guy | 12/22/2011 at 07:35 AM
Oh ya...I forgot to stress that point, didn't I? Mia culpa!
Posted by: June | 12/22/2011 at 07:49 AM
That looks good enough to cure what ails ya! I need to make that for my sweet Camille Ana - she adores Tomato soup!
Posted by: Lea | 12/22/2011 at 02:53 PM
I guess it did the trick Lea because I'm feeling much better today. I'm going to try it soon with roasted vegetables because I think the basics are perfect for playing with the main ingredient.
Posted by: June | 12/22/2011 at 03:28 PM