Description
A bowl of roasted tomato soup with fresh tomatoes is just what you need to warm up on chilly summer nights. Roasting the tomatoes in the oven until lightly charred caramelizes their juices, brings out their natural sweetness, and gives a real flavor boost to the soup!
Ingredients
Scale
- 1.8kg ripe tomatoes (4 lbs)
- 1 small fennel, or use 1 medium yellow onion
- 1 small carrot
- 5 garlic cloves
- 2 tsp caster sugar
- 2 tsp fine sea salt
- ½ tsp black pepper, freshly ground
- a pinch of cayenne pepper, or use another type of chili powder
- 45ml olive oil (3 tbsp)
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 liter vegetable stock (4 ¼ cups), or you can use water
- 45ml heavy cream (3 tbsp), you can add more
Instructions
- Stem and halve the tomatoes. For this recipe you will need the largest roasting pan you have, preferably one with high sides. Insert the tip of a paring knife into a tomato, cut in a circular motion around the stem, pull the stem out and slice the tomato in half. There is no need to core/deseed the tomatoes. Add the two halves to the roasting pan and repeat with the other tomatoes.
- Prepare the vegetables. Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F). Cut off the stalks attached to the top of the fennel bulb and discard them. Slice the fennel bulb in half, roughly chop it and add to the pan. Peel the carrot, slice it into 8 mm (⅓ in) coins and add it to the tray. Peel the garlic cloves, cut them in half and add them to the tray. Season the vegetables with the sugar, salt, black and cayenne pepper. Drizzle with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Stir with your hands until everything is well coated in oil. Flip the tomato halves so that they are all cut side down. They can touch but if there is enough room, make sure that they are not on top of each other. This way, the tomatoes will brown better and actually roast instead of steam.
- Roast the vegetables and mix. Transfer the roasting pan to the oven and bake for 1 hour. The tomatoes should have blackened in places and their juices slightly caramelized. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup until smooth. It may take a while to get all the pieces. Be careful while mixing as the soup is burning hot. I also find it best to wear an apron because of potential splashes. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can blend the contents of the roasting pan in a food processor or blender (if using a blender, do this in batches as you should not fill it more than half full with hot liquid).
- Reheat. Pour the soup into a cooking pot and stir in stock. At this point, I often have to re-blend the soup a bit with my immersion blender because I notice I’ve missed a few bits of carrots or tomato skin etc. You can skip that step if the soup is smooth enough for you (or if you’ve used a food processor/blender). Heat the soup over medium heat and bring it to a simmer. Stir in the cream and continue to simmer for 3 min. The soup should not come to a boil. If the soup is too thick for your liking, thin it down by adding a small amount of water. Gradually add more if necessary until you reach the desired consistency. Serve immediately.
Notes
The roasted tomato soup with fresh tomatoes will keep in the fridge, stored in an airtight container, for up to 3 days.
Reheat the soup over medium-low heat, stirring often. It is normal if it has thickened in the fridge. Don’t hesitate to thin it down as written in the instructions if necessary.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl
- Calories: 259
Keywords: summer soup ideas, summer vegetarian dinner recipes, tomato season recipes