Roasted Tomato Soup
This soup relies entirely on the quality of your tomatoes. When they are at their peak, you need little else beyond heat and time to concentrate their sugars.
Don't rush the roast
The char on the tomatoes provides the depth usually lacking in lighter soups. If you pull them from the oven too early, the flavor will be one-dimensional.
- heavy baking sheet
- large heavy-bottomed pot
- immersion blender
- fine-mesh sieve
What goes in.
- 3 lbripe plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
- 1large yellow onion, quartered
- 6 clovesgarlic, peeled and left whole
- 3 tbspolive oil
- 2 cupschicken or vegetable stock
- 1/2 cupheavy cream
- 1 tspkosher salt
- 1/2 tspblack pepper
Refining the body
Running the pureed soup through a fine-mesh sieve is the difference between a rustic stew and a velvet-smooth soup. Do not skip this if you want a professional finish.
The method.
Roast the base
Preheat oven to 400°F. Arrange tomatoes, onions, and garlic on a baking sheet. Drizzle with oil and season. Roast for 45 minutes until the tomato skins are wrinkled and dark brown spots appear.
Simmer
Transfer everything from the sheet, including the pan juices, into a large pot. Add the stock. Bring to a simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes to marry the flavors.
Blend and strain
Use an immersion blender directly in the pot until smooth. Set your sieve over a clean bowl and press the soup through with a ladle, discarding the skins and seeds left behind.
Finish
Return the strained liquid to the pot. Stir in the cream over low heat until combined. Taste and adjust salt before serving.
Other turns to take.
Spiced
Add a teaspoon of smoked paprika or red pepper flakes during the roasting phase.
Herbed
Toss two sprigs of fresh thyme onto the baking sheet with the tomatoes before roasting.
When it doesn't go to plan.
If tomatoes are out of season, use high-quality canned whole peeled tomatoes instead of roasting, skipping to the simmer step.
The soup will thicken significantly as it sits; keep extra stock nearby to loosen it if reheating the next day.
Warm your bowls before serving to keep the soup at an ideal temperature longer.
The ones that keep coming up.
Can I freeze this?
Yes, but freeze it before adding the cream. Add the cream only when you reheat the thawed soup.
Why did my soup turn orange?
The cream lightens the deep red of the roasted tomatoes. This is normal and expected.