Roasted Tomato Soup

This soup was a big fat hit! I don't usually like to have soup in the summer but for some reason no matter how hot it is, soup is a must for break -fast. Something about sweating out the calories I did not eat all day is ironically appealing. And what better vegetable to use for a summer soup than tomatoes? Walking into the supermarkets the first smell that hits you is the smell of fresh tomatoes of every kind and at the peak of ripeness there is nothing like eating a juicy tomato- it's as sweet and refreshing as any fruit.  To accentuate the sweetness of the tomatoes I decided to go with a roasted tomato soup and the roasting really added a great depth of flavor to the soup and a little smokiness. Served with some grilled cheese for dipping this soup was out of this world! Enjoy!

Tools you'll need for this recipe:

Sheet Pan

Pot

Immersion Blender

4 lbs tomatoes ( a little less then 2 kilo or about 12-14 tomatoes)( I used a combo of on the vine and plum), quartered

1 large onion, quartered

7 cloves garlic, peeled

2 carrots, peeled and chunked

2 stalks celery, chunked

olive oil

1 bay leaf

5 cups vegetable stock

1 tsp good quality dried oregano

1 tsp good quality dried basil

1 Tbl sugar

1 Tbl tomato paste

1/2 cup cream

salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 450. On a sheet pan place the tomatoes, onion, garlic, carrots and celery. Toss with enough olive oil so that everything is coated and season WELL with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes and then mix the vegetables, pressing down on the tomatoes a little to release their juices. Roast another 15 minutes. Place all the vegetables and all the juice from the pan into a pot and add the bay leaf, vegetable stock, herbs, sugar and tomato paste. Season well with salt and pepper and bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Let the soup simmer for about 25 minute until the veggies are all tender.  Remove bay leaf and Puree with an immersion blender and add the cream. Let the soup simmer for 5 minutes with the cream and serve!