Roasted Tomato Basil SOUP

Yes, this is my daughter hiding behind a bush of Basil...why ever is she hiding...you ask. Well, actually she was sniffing her brains out. It smelled so absolutely, positively divine. It ended up I had to pry her dirty, half polish chipped off twelve year old hands of my basil, so I could wash it and make first Tomato Basil Soup and second Pesto.

The basil I planted this year went hog wild! I have two more plants that are even bigger than this one that I still need to use or give away. If you live in my neck of the wood, I would be more than happy to share. Cause you know it's nice to share.

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup is seriously super easy. There are a few steps, but not too many ingredients and I doubt you could ruin it if you tried. It's all about the tomatoes. You want fresh, in season, Romas for the best soup. I have made it in the dead of winter and it's good, but it's not spectacular like it is when you pick the tomatoes fresh off the vine or buy them from your local farmers market. (wink)

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

printable recipe

Serves 6

10-12 tomatoes roasted

1 cup diced sweet onion

1-3 cloves garlic minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 table spoon butter

3-4 cups chicken stock

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

2 cups fresh basil (packed and sliced in thin strips)

salt and pepper to taste

If you missed my previous post on roasting tomatoes then go here and then come back and put the roasted tomatoes in your blender or Vitamix if you are lucky enough to have one of them jobbies. (I don't, but I have been hinting for a good two years to my family that I would love one)
Pour 1 1/2 cups of the chicken stock in with the tomatoes. Blend for 1 to 2 minutes until smooth.


Chop your sweet onion. One small onion or 1 heaping cup of sweet onion chopped small. Mince one to three cloves of garlic.

Melt one tablespoon each of butter and olive oil in 4-6 quart sauce pan add onions and garlic saute' until translucent. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and a good dose of fresh cracked pepper during sauteing time.


Now add the onions and garlic to the blender with the tomatoes. (Set your pan aside to use again in a minute.) Give them another whirl until well blended and smooth. Approximately 1-2 minutes. Now you want to pour the tomato soup base back into the pan you sauteed the onion and garlic in.


Time to give your soup a KICK! We like spice, this family of mine. Return the pan back to the heat and add 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes you could add just a dash or you could leave it out all together. Suite yourself!


Now for a spoonful of sugar....1 tablespoon to be exact. Give it a stir. Now add the remaining chicken stock. If you prefer your soup a bit thicker then only add 1 1/2 cups of stock or you can add the remaining 2 1/2 cups...that's what I did. Slow simmer.

While your soup is simmering pack two cups of fresh basil. I don't think you can use too much. Can you smell it. It is intoxicating. Who needs Sweet Tea Vodka when you have fresh basil. Oh Mama.

Bunch it up in a nice basil bundle.

Chiffonade your basil. Chiffa-whoey? Chiffonade is a cooking technique, used with herbs or leafy green vegetables, to cut them into long thin strips. Usually accomplished by stacking the leaves and then rolling them tightly, then cutting across the leaf, creating ribbons of beautiful basil. That was my "morsel of knowledge" for the day..or week, possibly the century.


Now after you have your basil chiffonaded, toss it on into your slow simmering soup and then turn off the heat. Give it a stir. Let it sit for 5 minutes to let that basil get all warm and cozy. Then serve with grilled cheese or Cheesy Toast.

This soup freezes fantastically. If you are going to make it to freeze I would follow all the steps except leave out the 2nd addition of chicken stock. Add the additional stock when you thaw and reheat. I hope your family enjoys this as much as mine does. It is also one of those meals that is great to make when you have a busy night because you can just leave it on the stove with the toast off to the side and when your family starts rolling in they can help themselves and warm it up in the microwave.

My kids went back to school today. So now I am going to go eat bonbons.

LuvYA,

roasting tomaTOES

Finally, my maters are ripening up. I planted three tomato plants this year along with some herbs. The plants have a large amount of fruit on them...but they have been slow to turn red. One of my favorite ways to eat tomatoes is roasted. MMmmm..mmm.mmm..mmM! You can do so much with them. once you have roasted them. Soup, bruschetta, pasta sauce, salads, pizza, or if you are like me I just eat them fresh off the pan...they are lucky if they make it to any other recipe. And the smell, is heavenly. It is really simple. And you know what I am sure you could freeze them for a later date. I never have...they never make it past the day I have roasted them.

What you will need:

roma tomatoes

kosher salt

pepper

olive oil

cookie sheets

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

First, after you have washed and dried your tomaotes, you should slice off the tops, then cut lengthwise, right down the middle. See above specimen.

Lay them all out in neat rows on your cookie sheets. Tomatoes really like order. After they are all in there places give them a drizzle of olive oil.


My mom is Oregon for the summer, but somehow her hand appeared in my kitchen. Weird. Right there in my picture viewer was my mothers hand. It haunts me this hand. I poured some salt in my mothers hand and sprinkled it semi generously over the tomatoes.



Then I take my pepper mill and give them each a turn of pepper, or if you don't have a pepper mill (mine is a cheapy from Costco, found in the spice aisle) you can use regular old ground pepper.


Then pop those babies in your preheated oven for 45 minutes or maybe an hour depending on how meaty your tomatoes are. They should be shriveling slightly and carmelizing on the bottom of the pan.

Oh be still my heart! Stay tuned for: pasta/ pizza sauce and Roasted Tomato Basil Soup. Do you have smell-O-blogger? That would be a very dangerous thing....

Get Roastin'!