Roasted Tomato Basil Soup
I love soup. It doesn’t matter to me what time of year it is. I will eat it anytime. I adapted this recipe for Roasted Tomato Basil Soup by Ina Garten from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook. It can be made from grocery store or fresh tomatoes. Roasting the tomatoes first gives the soup a deeper, more complex flavor. I have used it as an appetizer as well as a main dish.
Fresh tomatoes from our garden are amazing in this soup. I usually use Roma tomatoes in the fall and winter months, and it is still really good.
In a medium bowl, stir together tomatoes, olive oil, kosher salt, and pepper.
While the tomatoes are roasting, sauté the onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes in butter and olive oil. I don’t use as much onion as the original recipe calls for. Use more if you’d like to.
Once the tomatoes are roasted, combine all of the ingredients in a large stockpot and simmer for about 40 minutes. This is even better with homemade chicken broth, which you can find a recipe for here.
Ina’s recipe says to use a food mill to blend all of the ingredients after the simmering is done, but I use my immersion blender. It is an amazing tool for soups and any other types of blending or smoothing. Using this blender keeps you from having to pour it out of the stockpot and into another container. You can find immersion blenders in the cooking section of most department stores. Here are a few examples. Mine was about $50, but you can probably find a good one for less.
It will transition into a lovely smooth texture in a matter of minutes.
The result is a beautiful soup with a very complex blend of flavors. It is seriously good, really beyond description. A great bonus is that it’s also very high in Vitamins A and C, and low in calories. It can be kept in the fridge for several days and it also freezes really well.
Roasted Tomato Basil Soup
Ingredients
- 3 pounds fresh tomatoes chopped
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1-1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 small onion chopped
- 1 teaspoon garlic
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper flakes
- 28 oz can tomatoes with liquid
- 2-3 cups chopped fresh basil
- 1 quart chicken broth or stock
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°. Toss together the tomatoes, 1/4 cup olive oil, salt , and pepper. Spread the tomatoes in one layer on a large, rimmed baking pan and roast for 45 minutes.
- In an 8 qt stockpot on medium heat, saute the onions and garlic with 2 tbsp of the olive oil, butter, and red pepper flakes for 10 minutes, or until the onions are translucent.
- Add the canned tomatoes, basil, and chicken stock. Add the roasted tomatoes, including the liquid, to the stockpot.
- Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for 40 minutes.
- Use an immersion blender, food mill, or blender to blend the soup,
- This freezes beautifully.
Enjoy!
