The first time I made this soup I knew it would not be the last. And, I knew I would never make tomato soup from a can ever again.
This Roasted Tomato Soup is not only delicious, but also simple to make. What you will need is about two and a half pounds of a variety of tomatoes – heirlooms, beefsteak, vine and campari. I love the different tastes of each of these tomatoes and the richness they impart to the flavor of the soup.
This soup along with a great grill cheese is comfort food to the max. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Roasted Tomato Soup
2 ½ pounds tomatoes cut in wedges
1 large red pepper, cut in half, seeded and then cut in large wedges
1 onion cut in wedges
6 cloves garlic, whole and unpeeled
¼ to ½ of large poblano pepper cut in wedges (optional, adds a nice bite)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups of chicken stock and/or vegetable stock, the low sodium or unsalted kind
1 teaspoon oregano
¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
4 ounces of cream cheese
Place your cut tomatoes, red pepper, onion, poblano pepper and unpeeled garlic cloves in a large baking pan. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss together using your fingers to be sure all vegetables are coated.
Roast in a 375 degree preheated oven for about 50 minutes.
In the meantime, pour your 2 cups of stock in a pot (I use one cup of chicken stock and one cup of vegetable stock), add oregano and smoked paprika and let simmer. These flavors will now start to marry.
Once the vegetables are roasted, take out of the oven, remove the skin from the garlic and pour everything into the warmed stock. Simmer for about 15 minutes.
Pour half of the roasted vegetables and stock into a blender of some sort. Add in half of the cream cheese and blend until creamy. Follow with the remaining vegetables, stock and cream cheese. I use a Vitamix, but if all you have is a stick hand blender, which I used for years, it does the trick. Pour both patches back into your pot and warm on simmer. Do not let soup boil. Enjoy!
This recipe was adapted from Closet Cooking.
