Roasted Tomato Soup

Recipe #4 was Tyler Florence's Roasted Tomato Soup from his book Stirring the Pot. I'm a big fan of Tyler Florence. My husband can't stand him- thinks he's too full of himself. I think having kids has mellowed Tyler, for sure. I like his food a lot, and his cookbooks are gorgeous. The soup was delicious, alongside a grown up grilled cheese. I cut the boys' sandwiches into strips and they dipped them in the soup. Then I copied them. Delicious.

Roasted Tomato Soup

adapted from Tyler Florence

2 1/2 pounds fresh tomatoes (mix of fresh heirlooms, cherry, vine and plum tomatoes)

6 cloves garlic, peeled

2 small yellow onions, sliced

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 quart chicken stock

2 bay leaves (I didn't have these)

4 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves, optional (I didn't have these either, but used about 1/2 tsp of dried)

3/4 cup heavy cream, optional
Preheat oven to 450˚F.

Wash, core and cut the tomatoes into halves. Spread the tomatoes, garlic cloves and onions onto a baking tray. Drizzle with ½ cup of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 20-30 minutes or until caramelized.

Remove roasted tomatoes, garlic and onion from the oven and transfer to a large stock pot. Pour in any liquid from the roasting pan, ¾ of the chicken stock, bay leaves and butter. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until liquid has reduced by1/3.

Wash and dry basil leaves and add to the pot. Puree the soup using an immersion stick blender until smooth. (Or use your blender, working in batches and being very careful not to let the lid pop off and hot soup burn you!) Return soup to low heat, add cream and adjust consistency with remaining chicken stock if necessary. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.