roasted tomato soup
As I write this post, my holidays have officially started! That’s good news for you, dear reader, because this means that I’ll be spending lots of time in my kitchen concocting dishes for you to try next. I haven’t posted a recipe for soup in a while — not since I gave you the recipe for this creamy cauliflower soup in November — although I’ve been making so many different batches of soup lately. Cooking for two is so much harder than cooking for six; you have to cut down most recipes by at least half so that you don’t end up stacking leftovers in your fridge. However, when it comes to soup, I never cut down the recipes and always freeze the leftovers for another cold night.
As I previously mentioned here, recipes for the blog are always cooked during the weekend and photographed with day light, which means that you miss out on 5 days of savormania cooking per week! During my two-week holiday, I’ll be photographing and writing up recipes for every single meal cooked, such as this succulent roasted tomato soup. You’ll be practically licking the plate after trying this one, guaranteed.
I prepare most soups this way: throw the vegetables in a saucepan, cover with vegetable broth and let simmer for 30 minutes until tender. It’s not too original, but it always gets the job done! I sometimes get more creative and decide to take an extra 15 minutes to brainstorm different ideas of soup-making. One of those moments happened when I made this tomato soup, when I decided to roast my tomatoes before simmering them with the rest of the ingredients. Roasting the tomatoes prior to simmering them brings such a rich and smokey flavor to the soup. What’s even more incredible is that all of this is achieved with…canned tomatoes! Not even the real, fresh vegetable (ahem, fruit, because as weird as it seems, they are fruits after all!).
To roast the tomatoes, you’ll have to strain canned crushed tomatoes through a sieve over a mixing bowl until all the juices drip into the bowl. Then line a baking sheet with aluminium foil and scoop the drained tomatoes onto the sheet. Drizzle them with olive oil and season them with salt and pepper. Roast them in a preheated oven to 390°F/200°C until caramelised, about 10 minutes. Do keep an eye on the tomatoes while they roast because they tend to burn rather quickly, especially if they still contain some of their juices.
Besides roasted tomatoes, this soup also calls for the reserved tomato juices, celery, carrots, onion, and garlic, which all go marvellously well with tomatoes and bring a creamy texture to the soup without requiring any dairy product, like cream or milk. You might be surprised that the soup calls for so little vegetable broth (1 ½ cup only), but the reserved tomato juices bring all the rest of the liquid needed.
The recipe below is perfect for 4 people, but feel free to double or triple it if you have more bellies to feed! You can also freeze it and save it for another night — I could eat this one every day!
- 1.8 pounds (800g) canned crushed tomatoes
- ¼ cup + 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- Salt and pepper
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 2 small carrots, chopped
- 1 big onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 ½ cup vegetable broth
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tablespoons chopped basil
- Preheat oven to 390°F/200°C and line a baking sheet with aluminium foil.
- Take a sieve and position it above a mixing bowl. Pour the crushed tomatoes into the sieve and drain all the liquid into the bowl. Push the tomatoes against the sieve with the back of a spoon to thoroughly remove all of their liquid. Scoop the tomatoes onto the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle the ¼ cup olive oil over the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 10 minutes until caramelised. Keep an eye on the tomatoes -- you don't want them to burn. Keep the reserved tomato liquid aside.
- In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, heat the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil. Add the celery, carrot, onion and garlic and sauté for 8 to 10 minutes until soft but not golden. Add the reserved tomato juices, broth, roasted tomatoes and bay leaves and bring the mixture to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes until all vegetables are soft.
- Remove the bay leaf, add basil, and purée with a handheld blender until smooth.
How did your roasted tomato soup come out? Share photos of your recipe on Instagram by tagging #savormania