Roasted Tomato Soup

By lorik

Recipe courtesy of Tyler Florence

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 pounds assorted tomatoes (heirloom, vine and plum)
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, for garnish (optional)
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 6 cloves garlic
• 2 small onions, sliced
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 quart chicken stock
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• Variation from Food Network: (6 servings)
• 1 medium white or yellow onion
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
• Two 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes
• One 46-ounce bottle or can tomato juice
• 3 to 6 tablespoons sugar
• 1 or 2 tablespoons chicken base, or 3 chicken bouillon cubes
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup sherry, optional
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Details

Servings 4
Cooking time 65mins
Adapted from foodnetworkmagazine.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Core and halve the tomatoes (leave the cherry tomatoes whole). Heat a flameproof roasting pan over medium-high heat. Drizzle with the 1/2 cup olive oil, then spread all of the tomatoes, the garlic and onions in the pan. Cook, stirring gently, until the garlic is browned, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the pan to the oven and roast until the tomatoes are caramelized, 20 to 30 minutes.

Remove the roasted tomatoes, garlic and onions from the oven and transfer to a large stockpot (set aside the cherry tomatoes for garnish). Add 3 cups chicken stock, the bay leaves and butter. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the liquid is reduced by one-third, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the bay leaves.

Add the basil to the pot. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth (or puree in a regular blender and return to the pot). Reduce the heat to low, add the heavy cream and adjust the consistency with the remaining 1 cup chicken stock, if necessary. Season with salt and pepper. Divide among bowls and top with the roasted cherry tomatoes; drizzle with olive oil.

Variation:

To begin, dice the onion. Melt the butter in a large pot or Dutch oven. Throw in the onion and cook until translucent.

Now dump in the diced tomatoes and stir to combine. Add the tomato juice.

Next - and this is important - in order to combat the acidity of the tomatoes add 3 to 6 tablespoons of sugar. Now, you'll want to start on the low side, then taste and add more as needed. Some tomatoes and juice have more of an acidic bite than others. (For what it's worth, and I realize it's not worth much, I use 6 tablespoons of sugar.)

Next, add 1 or 2 tablespoons chicken base to the pot. I added 3, and it wound up being a little too much.

Now you can add lots of freshly ground black pepper. Stir to combine, then heat almost to a boil. Then turn off the heat.

Add in the sherry if desired. Stir in the cream. Add the basil and parsley and stir.

Serve the soup warm!