Wednesday, October 20, 2010

The Never-Ending Garden


I had been enjoying the fruit of my parent’s labor all summer in the form of homegrown tomatoes. Since my last tomato had been eaten a few weeks ago and I was craving them, I finally broke down and bought a huge container of cherry tomatoes at Costco, only to get a phone call that yet another crop of juicy red tomatoes was ready to be picked. So even with 3 pounds of cherry tomatoes sitting on my counter at home, I happily accepted another pound. You can’t pass up homegrown tomatoes, especially in late October!

With that many tomatoes, I wanted to make a dish that used a considerable amount of fruit. I made a lot of tomato dishes this summer, but skipped over the obvious: tomato soup.

We are soup people…it doesn’t matter what kind of soup; it doesn’t matter if it’s 90 degrees out; it doesn’t matter if we had soup the night before…we usually won’t pass up a bowl. But last night I had two perfect excuses…Andy was feeling a little under the weather, and it has finally gotten down to the low 50’s at night. Soup time!


Creamy Roasted Tomato Soup

Makes 2 large bowls           

Roasted Tomatoes:
1 1/2 pounds cherry tomatoes
olive oil
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon thyme

Soup:
olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon thyme
14 ounce can vegetable broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
salt and pepper
6 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese

To roast tomatoes: Toss tomatoes with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and thyme on a baking sheet. Roast in a 400 degree oven for about 40 minutes.

Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a pot and sweat onions for about 10 minutes, until soft. Add garlic and thyme and cook for another minute. Stir in vegetable broth and let simmer for a few minutes. Add in roasted tomatoes, tomato paste, cayenne pepper (if using), and season with salt and pepper. Mash the tomatoes a bit to release their juices and stir together. Let soup simmer for another 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Put soup through a food mill, and return to pot. Stir in cream and parmesan cheese. Check seasonings and add salt and pepper as needed. Heat over low heat until hot. 


While this may not be the quickest tomato soup, it is very easy and the result is well worth the time. Roasting the tomatoes gives them such a deep flavor, and means you really don’t need a lot of other ingredients. The cayenne adds a touch of heat, and the cream and parmesan cheese add richness. 

I only wish I’d made more…

54 comments:

  1. yummy soup...look very delicious

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  2. My daughter would love this! I bet it's especially good with home grown tomatoes...lucky you!

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  3. Yum...that looks so good! I make soup all the time once it finally cools off in Texas (another month or so...). I've never made tomato soup, though. Saving...

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  4. Very tasty! Isn't tomato soup awesome?? I sometimes use fresh tomatoes, but otherwise I cheat and used canned fire-roasted :) And I always love to see pureed soups, they are my favorite! Well done!

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  5. Tomato soup is my very favourite soup. This looks amazing! I'm like you, I can eat soup all year long, it doesn't matter what the temperature is. Yum!

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  6. I'm so jealous of your fresh tomatoes! They are starting to get scarce as it gets colder!

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  7. Looks fantastic! We love roasted tomato soup! A favorite!

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  8. Lucky you to have all of those fresh tomatoes this summer. I am a tomato addict and roasted tomatoes taste heavenly to me, so I know I would love your soup.

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  9. Tomatos are one thing that I definitely wouldn't mind having too much of to work with. I can imagine that the roasting adds a lot more depth to this soup. It looks fanstastic!

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  10. thank you
    this soup looks delicious lovely colour

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  11. Yum. Tomato soup is my favorite. I can't wait to see what else you make with all those tomatoes!

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  12. I LOVE roasted tomatoes, I use them in so many dishes, and this soup looks lovely.

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  13. I love roasted tomatoes and you are so lucky you can still enjoy homegrown tomatoes. This soup is ideal for the season.

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  14. You do come up with amazing recipes. I made roasted cherry tomatoes and made tomato soup but this looks and sounds fantastic. Our tomato seson is over, but next visit to Costco.
    Thank you,
    Rita
    We are also soup people

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  15. Wow, pictures are making me to drool...what a lovely preparation.

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  16. I love this - the tomatoes are beautiful. I can taste their condensed flavor from here!! A wonderful soup!

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  17. mmm.. yum. i love that you roasted the tomatoes! they look amazing. tomato soup really is the perfect comfort food for this cooler weather.:)

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  18. This soup looks yummy and delicious! I love tomato soup, especially with a grilled cheese! I tell you, the simple things in life are the best!

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  19. Oh yum! We aren't getting any red tomatoes any more but this soup looks worthy of actually paying for some!

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  20. Perfect for the next time I'm sick! Thanks

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  21. wow what a delightful soup my little one loves cherry tomatoes

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  22. the tomato season is over here, but you are very lucky to still get tomatoes. Your recipe look wonderful and flavorful, so I might have to make a trip to Costco.

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  23. That is the most perfect tomato soup I've seen in a long time. As always, your recipes are so tantallizing, and yummy, and the photos are superb.
    Love the cut Fall inspired table cloth too!

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  24. This looks wonderful. We have a lot of tomatoes still growing in our garden. I have made tomato soup in the past, but I did think of roasting the tomatoes. Sounds yummy!

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  25. I adore tomato soup. Roasting the tomatoes first adds great flavor. Thanks for sharing this recipe. It's perfect for a rainy day - and luckily we still have lots of tomatoes.

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  26. Looks wonderful - I never used to like tomato soup until I discovered the joys of roasted tomato soup - such wonderful depth of flavour.

    Also loved your bacon & gruyere baked potatoes in your last post - will be trying those for sure.

    Sue :-)

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  27. I made soup as well but this one sounds much more wonderful and rich.

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  28. What a delicious bowl of Soup... A great recipe and perfect for the cold days.

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  29. This soup looks so perfect. I have been wanting to make tomato soup recently. Lucky you to make it with your own fresh tomatoes. :)

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  30. Add a grilled cheese sandwich to this soup and I'm in Heaven. Wonderful soup. I haven't made tomato soup in a long time. Thanks for the reminder.

    Plan B

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  31. I love this recipe, roasting the tomatoes must add a nice flavor, it's challenging to make a good tomato soup, especially with fresh cherry tomatoes! I love the swirl of the cream too..all it needs is a side of grilled cheese!

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  32. What a nice blog you have! Thanks for leaving a comment on mine so I could find you.

    I think roasting makes everything taste so good. I love fresh tomato soup!

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  33. I love roast tomatoes- I bet they were wonderful in this soup! Now all I'd need is a grilled cheese sandwich, and I'd be very happy!

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  34. Look at those gorgeous roasted tomatoes! This sounds superb!

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  35. You are right, you can't pass up just picked tomatoes, Costco's just don't compare. What a wonderful way to use them!

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  36. this sound like a super yummy tomato soup, i immediate bookmarked this recipe, must try soon.

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  37. What a cool way to prepare this roasted tomato soup! Must be so flavourful. It's a keeper! Thank you and hope you're having a great weekend ahead.
    Kristy

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  38. This looks yummy and comforting! Fantastic photos!

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  39. I have a similar recipe for creamy tomato soup and now I want to make it! Although my husband is not a huge fan so it's one of those things I have to make when I am not cooking for both of us! That picture of the roasted cherry tomatoes looks awesome!

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  40. Love the pics.. such a creative presentation of a simple dish. Excellent!!!

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  41. Oh my goodness delicious-ness! It's funny you mentioned your parents' gardening success because my own tomato plants were duds this year (or, maybe it was just my poor gardening skills!), but I enjoyed my parents' overwhelming tomato harvest all summer, too :)

    Your soup looks fantastic!

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  42. Those roasted tomatoes look so good I think half of them would have been devoured along with a few shavings of parmesan before they made it into my soup pot!

    Great plating and great photos! Delicious Karen.

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  43. I have two very large Wesc jars of slow-roasted tomatoes...and just the other day was thinking of turning them into soup. Its like you read my mind and posted this divine-looking recipe :)

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  44. I love soup too. And your tomato soup is making me hungry. I'm going to have to try roasting tomatoes for more flavor. Thanks for sharing.

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  45. I wish I had too many tomatoes! This looks lovely. I really like your blog!

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  46. I bet the roasting of tomatoes adds amazing flavor...sounds delicious :)

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  47. Beautiful Soup! Roasting tomatoes produce such a marvelous flavor!

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  48. Tomato soup is not my favorite soup, but tonight I decided to try this because it looked so tasty. The last memorable tomato soup I had was when I was about 5 or 6 years old. This is the second tomato soup in my life that I won't forget. It is very flavorful. A must try. We loved it.

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  49. It is a fantastic tasty-trial.. haha Keep rocking.
    http://shanthisthaligai.blogspot.com/

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  50. Going to have to try this! I LOVE tomatoes and the produce co-op has been leading me down. Yum!

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  51. This looks divine! Beautiful photography, and very creative. I love your blog!

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  52. Good grief, the roasting tomatoes look fantastic so I can't even begin to imagine how tremendous that soup tastes. The photos are gorgeous.

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