Roasted Tomato Soup

Last week I was hanging out at a friend's house will all the little children while she took her older boys and my girls on a homeschool field trip. Thumbing through one of her magazines I came across a recipe for Roasted Tomato Soup. It sounded tasty and I had all the ingredients including the three pints of organic cherry tomatoes. I just knew I had to give it a try. The weather has gotten a little warmer, but there is still a chill in the air, so soup would be a good lunch this week.

INGREDIENTS

• 6 cups (3 pints) cherry tomatoes
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1 cup whipping cream (I used half & half)
  

First heat your oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl toss the cherry tomatoes, salt, pepper and 2 Tbsp of the olive oil. Spread tomatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast tomatoes until they are shriveled with brown spots. This should take about 40-50 minutes.

Meanwhile in a large soup pot melt the butter and add the garlic and onion. Saute' over medium heat for about 6 minutes until they are soft. Add the canned tomatoes with their juice, the broth, the thyme, and the roasted tomatoes including any juice on the pan.

Bring this mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 40 minutes.

Pour the mixture into a food processor or blender and puree until it's smooth. You can see this was almost too much for my food processor. Next time I think I will do it in two batches.

Put the soup back in the soup pot. Stir in the cream. Warm the soup over medium heat being careful not to let it boil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Here is our tasty lunch. It was wonderful and very tomatoey. (Is that even a word?) This is a great base recipe. You could easily change the herbs and spices to make this suit our pallet. I'm thinking basil and oregano for a more Italian flavor. Then garnish it with Parmesan cheese. You could also go Mexican adding taco seasoning, salsa and sour cream. Serve with tortilla chips instead of crackers. And of course you could make a wonderful CORN (clean out the refrigerator night) soup with this be adding all the leftover veggies, pasta, and rice from the week.