Roasted Tomato Soup

There's something incredibly satisfying about making a pot of soup from scratch and bypassing the canned soup section at your local grocery store. JBug's Kitchen has produced several versions of tomato soup during the past 3 years and they've had their similarities and their differences. 

The one thing they all have in common is roasted tomatoes. Roasting the tomatoes before they go into the soup really intensifies their flavor. Our first effort adapted from Idaho a la Carte required only 20 minutes of roasting time and included garlic, Italian herbs like basil, oregano and an extra flavor boost of tomato paste along with some red wine and chicken stock. The soup was finished with ricotta cheese and heavy cream along with a garnish of garlicky spinach pesto. It's awesome, rich in flavor, silky on the tongue and definitely a perfect red/green first course at a special Holiday dinner party. 

Our second version of roasted tomato soup was adapted from a recipe by the Neely's of Foodnetwork fame. The tomatoes roasted for an entire hour before they were pureed and joined by shallots sauteed in butter along with tomato paste, chicken stock and lots of cayenne pepper as well as dried basil and Italian seasoning.

Finished with a cup of cream, the result is a little more like the canned version we all know and love but with a bit of a kick to it's creamy smooth lusciousness. 

Last night's recipe is adapted from Smitten Kitchen (sans the broiled cheddar) and is relatively pure and very simple to make with limited ingredients. Garlic is roasted in a foil pouch along with halved tomatoes before they're all pulsed in a processor to a chunky puree. Combined with chicken stock, seasoned with thyme, salt, coarse ground black pepper and crushed red pepper flakes, the simple ingredients are simmered for 30 minutes to reduce the liquid and intensify flavors.

It is simple wholesome goodness that requires perfectly ripe Roma (Plum) tomatoes to be successful so be sure to plan ahead so the 3 pounds you'll need have a chance to ripen on the counter before you make the soup.

Bet you're wondering what we thought about it aren't you? Big Guy enjoyed it very much and liked the chunky texture and spicy heat from the red pepper flakes. I, on the other hand, quite missed the creaminess so garnished our portions with a touch of mascarpone cheese and I even ended up going back for a smidge of sour cream because I might possibly have added a few too many pepper flakes to the mix. Uhh ya' it was spicy. 

All said, I'm not sure which version I prefer but I'll tell ya' one thing...every one of them's incredibly easy to make and well worth the effort so next time you're tempted to open a can of Campbell's think twice and try making your own soup. Believe me, you won't be disappointed. 

Roasted Tomato Soup (from JBug’s Kitchen, adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

3 pounds plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise

2 tablespoons olive oil

Coarse salt and black pepper

4 garlic cloves, unpeeled

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (more or less to taste)

4 cups chicken stock

Preheat oven to 400. Arrange tomatoes cut side up on a sheet pan and season well with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with olive oil. Wrap unpeeled garlic cloves into foil and place on pan with tomatoes. Roast for 1 hour until tomatoes are brown.

Remove from oven and let sit until cool enough to handle. Squeeze roasted garlic into a food processor and add tomatoes and their juices. Pulse to chop until chunky. Do not over-process.

Move to a medium sized pot and add thyme, red pepper flakes and chicken stock. Bring mixture to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until soup is the texture you prefer. Ladle into bowls and garnish as you wish. Makes 4 servings. 

A year ago - Roquefort Stuffed Pork Chops with Braised Apples 

Two year's ago - Creamy Turkey and Wild Rice Soup

 

Comments

[Shaun]

This looks good, cant get fresh plum tomatoes here so it will have to be normal ones, I'll go with the big guy and have the chunky spicy bowl, the rest I'll blend with single cream for the kids...maybe a cheeky slice of french bread topped with cheese floating in the middle too!

[June]

Funny, the cheddary bread is how Smitten Kitchen served their version. We had leftover meatloaf panini sandwiches with cheese and jalapenos. Incidentally about the tomatoes, in that case I'd probably give them a little squeeze to get rid of some of the juices before roasting them and/or add tomato paste for a little more flavor.

[Shaun]

In fact this is tomorrows lunch...farm shop in the morning for a mix of normal and cherry tomatoes, supermarket tonight for a bag of mixed cheddar/mozzeralla, and a tiger bread french stick...sorted!

[June]

Love your idea of using some cherry tomatoes. Those little suckers have so much more flavor. Hey...I want to come for lunch too!

[Shaun]

Good point June, but I think I will roast them whole still, our tomatoes are pretty dense, and the cherry ones are amazing, packed full of flavour, I'll let you know how I get on.

[June]

Please do Shaun!

[Lea]

My sweet CA loves her some tomato soup - and I hate to tell you what I do to give her some - but it involves a small can of tomato sauce and some dried basil and marjoram - but that is another story from this tomato allergy plagued mother of a tomato soup lover. Maybe I should just suck it up and try these for her! Do any of them freeze well?

[June]

Lea - you're very sweet to make it for her at all! The last one (today's new recipe) would freeze great since it doesn't contain any dairy. If she likes it smoother, you could always puree it more and add cream later when you reheat.

[Shaun]

It freezes great Lea, I put a couple of portions in freezer bags and lable them, when you want some just pop it in the pan on a low heat, when warmed through add a swirl of double cream...perfect with crusty bread!

[Shaun]

June I made this tonight, I've made tomato soup before but have to say the the chicken stock was a first and really changed it completely, great depth of flavour, popped a bit of sugar in to counter the sweetness of the cherry toms. But have to say...one cheesey slice is not enough...next time roasted garlic and chilli oil crostini with mozzeralla.

[June]

Shaun - it is really great isn't it? So glad you tried the recipe and yes, the stock makes all the difference in the world. Your crostini sound fabulous too...lots of flavor and love the way mozz gets all stringy. So fun to eat!

[Lorraine]

Hey, Just catching up...thought I had commented on this on...something like T likes tomato soup a lot. This one sounds like a good one. Like the idea of roasting the tomatoes for more flavor.

[June]

The roasted tom's really do make a difference. We'll be making it again and often.