Roasted Tomato Soup

During the never-ending search for yummy meals that both Cenita and I can enjoy, I came across this recipe for Roasted Tomato Soup on A Cup of Jo.  I loved that the soup didn't use any cream or involve an insane amount of time to make.  The kicker is that the tomato parmesan croutons are gluten-free and so delicious!  See the adapted recipe below.

You may be tempted to roast the tomatoes in a baking dish, as I was my first go round, fearing that the tomato juices will run off the baking sheet creating a mess. By doing this my tomatoes retained much of their juices and did not dry out and have a "roasted" appearance.  The second time I made this I roasted the tomatoes on a baking sheet with parchment paper and they came out perfectly roasted.  Though the soup was delicious both ways, I found that the second time there was more dimension to the soup.

After roasting the vegetables and pureeing them in the food processor I added them to a pot with the vegetable broth.

Once that came to a simmer I borrowed the seasoning suggestions from Smitten Kitchen's recipe and added dried thyme and bit of crushed red pepper [we like a bit of heat in our food in our house!].

I let this simmer for about 10 minutes.  I followed the recipe for the tomato parmesan croutons and topped the soup with them.  The hubby and I ate this with grilled ciabatta with a light sprinkling of cheese on top.  Keeping it gluten-free?  Just leave out the bread.

The results were spectacular! The second time around we ate the soup with grilled corn tortillas stuffed with a little cheese.  So satisfying!

Ingredients

3 pounds fresh vine-ripened

4-6 garlic cloves (skin on)

2 regular onions, cut in half

2 tablespoons olive oil

Thyme and Crushed Red Pepper and/or dried basil

2-4 cups vegetable broth or water

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Cut the tomatoes in halves and place them on a baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt.

Place the garlic cloves and onion halves on a separate baking sheet/dish and drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Place both baking sheets in the oven and roast the vegetables until soft, about 30 minutes for the onions and garlic and 1 hour for the tomatoes.

Remove from the oven and let cool.

Peel the skin off the garlic cloves and place with roasted tomatoes and onions, in a food processor. Puree until desired level of smoothness is achieved [I wanted it chunky and thick]. Transfer the puree to a pot and add vegetable broth or water to reach your preferred consistency. Add thyme, crushed red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste.

Simmer on medium heat for 10-15 minutes.

{ Salomé }