I was craving tomato soup the other day. So I scoured the internet to find a suitable soup for dinner. After looking around I settled on a soup that was based on canned tomatoes. I know, but it is winter here and the fresh tomatoes, well they suck. This soup roasts the tomatoes to give them a little kick. You won’t even know they came from a can.Tomato SoupI served this retro style with some grilled cheese. Awesome!!Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.I doubled the recipe as I could not find chopped tomatoes. So I used a 28oz can of whole tomatoes and chopped them myself.Strain the chopped canned tomatoes, reserving the juices, and spread onto a baking sheet, season with salt and pepper, to taste, drizzle with 1/4 cup of the olive oil and roast until caramelized, about 15 minutes.Roast the tomatoesMeanwhile, in a saucepan, heat remaining olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the celery, carrot, onion and garlic, cook until softened, about 10 minutes.Add the roasted chopped canned tomatoes, reserved tomato juices, chicken broth, bay leaf and butter.Add the tomatoes, tomato juice and chicken stock.Simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Add basil and cream, if using.Add the cream and basilPuree with a hand held immersion blender until smooth or use a blender. Remember that if you use a blender that the mixture will expand a bit so don’t fill it all the way to the top. I may have filled my blender a little too high as there is still some remnants of tomato soup on my ceiling. Season with salt and pepper and serve.Word of warning. Do not fill your blender up this high.I like to serve tomato soup with grilled cheese or croutons. Either makes a great addition to this soup.Tomato Soup and Grilled CheeseEnjoy!— Rex
Roasted Tomato Soup
Easy roasted tomato soup with fresh basil and cream. Canned tomatoes are roasted until caramelized for amazing depth of flavor.
114-ounce can chopped tomatoes or whole tomatoes (chopped)
3/4cupextra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1stalk celerydiced
1small carrotdiced
1yellow oniondiced
2clovesgarlicminced
1cupchicken broth
1bay leaf
2tablespoonsbutter
1/4cupchopped fresh basil leaves
1/2cupheavy cream
Method
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Strain the chopped canned tomatoes, reserving the juices, and spread onto a baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper, then drizzle with 1/4 cup of the olive oil.
Roast the tomatoes until caramelized, about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a saucepan, heat remaining olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the celery, carrot, onion and garlic. Cook until softened, about 10 minutes.
Add the roasted chopped tomatoes, reserved tomato juices, chicken broth, bay leaf and butter to the pan.
Simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Add fresh basil and heavy cream.
Puree with a hand-held immersion blender until smooth, or carefully use a blender. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve hot with grilled cheese sandwiches or croutons.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Michael Chiarello. If using a blender, do not fill it more than halfway as the hot liquid will expand. Serves 4.
Rex is an avid griller, barbecuer and bacon enthusiast. He is the Pitmaster for the Rex BBQ competition team. Rex was also featured on the TV show American Grilled. If you have any questions or wish to have Rex decode your favorite dish, click on the ASK REX link in the menu above.
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hey, how come no pictures of the ceiling? ha ha
I love the idea of roasting the tomatoes to make them not seem canned. The finished product looks amazing.
Are you still growing fresh basil???? Even the store bought "fresh" basil looks like crap around here.