I got a little carried away at the farmer’s market last week and found myself with too many tomatoes. I didn’t really feel like making the obvious thing – pasta sauce – so I decided to hunt for a tomato soup recipe instead.
While my mom made many wonderful homemade soups for us growing up (like this one, and this one), I don’t remember her ever making a tomato soup. And until now, I hadn’t either. So when I came across this one on the Food Network, I chose it because it used fresh tomatoes (as opposed to canned), sounded really delicious and would be easy to veganize.
I really like the fact that you roast not only the tomatoes, but the onions and garlic too. The smell of everything roasting was divine! But it’s the bright orange color and rich taste of the finished soup that is really amazing. It’s definitely a “keeper” for this household!
The original recipe said to toss the veggies in 1/2 cup of olive oil before roasting, but I only used 1/4 cup and it was more than enough. I also poured all of the roasting juices into the stock pot as well.
I didn’t have any cashews on hand but if you wanted to make this really decadent, you could serve it with a splash of cashew cream.
UPDATES
August 21, 2012 – I’ve decided that this is even better with more tomatoes and less vegetable stock, so my revised recipe appears below. Also, this recipe can be easily doubled or tripled, and it freezes very well. Why not make extra and pack it away for those cool fall/winter months?
Double the batch and freeze it for later!
- 3 pounds fresh tomatoes (about 4 cups, halved)
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled
- 2 small yellow onions, sliced
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3 cups vegetable stock
- 2 bay leaves
- Handful of chopped fresh basil or cilantro (coriander) for garnish (optional)
- Preheat oven to 450F/230C.
- Wash, core and cut the tomatoes into halves. Spread the tomatoes, garlic cloves and onions onto a baking tray. If using vine cherry tomatoes for garnish, add them as well, leaving them whole and on the vine. Drizzle with ¼ cup of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 30-35 minutes, or until caramelized.
- Remove roasted tomatoes, garlic and onion from the oven and transfer along with any roasting juices into a large stock pot. Add 3 cups of the vegetable stock and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until liquid has reduced by a third. Discard bay leaves.
- Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. If freezing, let soup cool before transferring to freezer-safe containers
- Garnish in bowl with chopped fresh basil or cilantro.
Cherry & mini heirloom tomatoes can also be used for this soup…
This looks really good! I’m always looking for new ways to use tomatoes, this is going on my “to-make list”.
Btw, I love your blog! I don’t comment much (sorry…), but I really like your fresh and upbeat style. Thanks for sharing!!
Hi Debbie, THANKS so much for the comment, I know how busy everyone is these days so I really appreciate it! This soup is so good, I’m going to double it next time as we ate this all in one day! :)
Can’t wait to try this! Thanks, and I <3 your blog page. :)
Thank you SO much! I really appreciate the feedback! :)
*drool*
Haha, thanks Linda! It was by far one of the best soups I’ve ever had. The smell of the veggies roasting was divine! :)
Do you need to peel the tomato? I really hate doing that but there is nothing worst than tomato skin in a smooth tomato soup.
Hi Lauren – I have a pretty decent stick blender, and the skins haven’t been an issue. I did notice a few tomato seeds though, so if that’s an issue for you, you may want to pass the soup through a fine sieve before serving.
Am off to kitchen now to make this soup.
Hi Jo – Awesome, let me know what you thought of it :)
Thanks Angela – this is so easy and delicious. I used tomatoes from my own garden and am on my second batch this week! FOr the second batch I used yellow tomatoes and it it so yummy and sweet.
Hi Corina – So glad you liked it. I agree, it’s so darn delicious considering the effort. Perfect for tomato season and yellow tomatoes would be so yummy (and beautiful). It freezes really well too, so make a bunch if you have lots of tomatoes :)
This soup looks lovely – I bet the whole house smells great when you make it!
It does! That’s one of the best parts of making this. But I’m loving your recipe and going to try it soon too! Glad to be in touch :)
I love your blog – everything looks amazing, and what I’ve tried so far rocks :) Question about the soup – any chance you’ve tried freezing it? I’m thinking of making a huge batch with this season’s final tomatoes and saving it for the winter.
PS: Ignore me – just saw the “freezer friendly” tag :P
Hi Kristin! Glad to hear you’re liking my recipes. This soup is awesome for freezing! I have a freezer-full right now. I not only double it, I triple it! :)
LOVE this soup! Made it for Christmas Dinner and everyone loved it. I doubled the recipe and we had the leftovers the next day. Next time I triple it!! I added some red pepper flakes when I made the soup for a little heat. Tossed in some zucchini when I reheated it and that was nice too. Can’t wait to have it again.
Thanks for letting me know how much you liked it – it’s one of my all-time favorite soups. Take care!
This soup is AMAZING!!! Do you happen to know roughly how many calories it is?
Thanks! I don’t track calories, but you should be able to calculate it using this site: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/