Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

Another rainy day in LA?! Stop everything and post about it on Facebook, and watch out for flash flood warnings. We kid you not, this is happens every time it rains in LA. It could be sprinkling and we get, “WARNING FLASH FLOOD WARNING”. But we actually got a steady stream of rain last night, and even this morning, hopefully we’ll get more, but since it’s actually cooler, today’s recipe is perfect for a rainy day.

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup is the perfect soup to have on a rainy day. It’s healthy, it’s filling, it’s hearty, and it’s the best tomato soup you’ll ever have. Forget that watery canned soup, this is real tomato soup. Who knew tomato soup could be so delicious?

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

Ingredients

3 pounds ripe plum tomatoes
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)
6 garlic cloves, 4 roasted and 2 minced
2 tablespoons salted butter
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 (28-ounce) canned plum tomatoes, with their juice
4 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
A splash of balsamic vinegar
1 quart chicken broth

Step 1:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Step 2:

Cut tomatoes down the middle, lengthwise. Toss tomatoes in a bowl with olive oil and salt and pepper. Also toss 4 cloves on shelled garlic in the bowl. Roast both on a sheet pan for about 45 minutes.

Step 3:

Sauté the onions in a pot with some olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter. When the onions are almost done, add in the remaining garlic and red pepper flakes.

Step 4:

Add the canned tomatoes and basil. Let it simmer for 10 minutes. Pour in half of the quart of chicken broth.

Step 5:

Now for the stars of the show: oven-roasted tomatoes and garlic. Carefully add the tomatoes and garlic to the pot. Add everything, it’s all yummy! Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.

Step 6:

Turn off the flame and let it cool for 10 minutes. In batches, scoop, with a ladle, the soup into a blender. Blend until smooth, adding in the rest of the chicken broth or to your liking. REMEMBER! place a kitchen towel over the blender so that you protect your face from the most delicious and painful mistake!

Step 7:

Make it heaven! pour the now smoothly blended soup back into the pot and make any seasoning adjustments here.