Roasted fresh tomato soup

A deliciously comforting bowl of goodness!

I’m sure I’m not alone in this predicament: I wait months for the tomatoes in my garden to grow and then, all of a sudden, I am overwhelmed by the plants’ abundance. I picked a huge basket of perfectly ripe fruit the other day and realized there were only so many sandwiches and salads I could eat, so I decided to roast some tomatoes and make this soup. I loved it and my husband absolutely raved about the flavour; I’ll be making this one often. If you’re wondering about the inclusion of baking soda, it helps neutralize the tomatoes’ natural acidity and really enhances the flavour. This soup freezes well; I plan to make numerous batches to set aside for a taste of summer on cold winter days. It can be enjoyed warm, at room temperature or cold.

Ingredients

• 3 pounds (1.3 kg) assorted tomatoes *
• 1 large yellow cooking onion
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons (30 mL) olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• Few pinches baking soda
• 1 cup (250 mL) vegetable or chicken broth
• 1/3 cup (20 g) packed fresh basil leaves, torn or chopped
• Optional garnishes: crumbled feta (or vegan alternative) and additional olive oil

*I used a mix of beefsteak, cherry and roma tomatoes

Method

• Preheat oven to 450F. Line a large, rimmed baking tray with parchment paper and set aside.
• Chop tomatoes into pieces of roughly equal size. Since I was using cherry tomatoes, which I halved, I made the other pieces similar in size to them. Peel and chop onion into pieces approximately 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) in size. Peel garlic cloves.
• Put all the vegetables on the prepared baking tray. Drizzle with the olive oil and a few grinds each of salt and pepper then toss to combine well. Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, until tomatoes are just beginning to blister in places. If garlic cloves are small, remove them from the pan as soon as they are golden brown and softened, and set aside.
• Once vegetables are roasted, transfer them to a large bowl or pot. Stir in smoked paprika, baking soda, fresh basil and broth. Puree the mixture using a stick (immersion) blender, or transfer the mixture (in batches) to a traditional blender and puree until smooth.
• After blending, taste the soup and adjust seasonings to your preference. At this point, the soup can be refrigerated or frozen, or heated and served.
• At serving time, ladle hot soup into bowls and garnish with crumbled feta and/or a drizzle of olive oil.

Serves 4 – 6.