A dear friend of mine is sharing the bounty of her garden by giving me fresh, plump and organic tomatoes! I love tomatoes and I tend to use them when I cook pasta (my hubby's favorite), but I wanted to attempt to cook something I love to eat when I am out: Tomato soup. Tomato soup at it's most basic is a red, runny mess. But I have also enjoyed flavorful bisque and refreshing summer gazpacho at some of LA's finest restaurants. For my first attempt making tomato soup I wanted to create a soup that was hearty and flavorful. A soup, that when paired with a light salad and dinner bread, could stand as a meal by itself.
Well, I think that for my first try I hit a home run!! This is my own recipe, which creates a bisque-like in consistency and flavorful tomato soup that can be enjoyed by the most discerning palates. Ingredients to prepare 4 cups of spicy tomato soup include:
- 10 large tomatoes sliced in half
- 1/4 white onion cut in half
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/2 serrano pepper sliced in half
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- Fresh-ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tomato bouillon square
- 1 teaspoon freeze-dried cilantro leaves
Place all of your tomatoes (flat-side down), onion and garlic in a clay baking dish.
Drizzle with the olive oil and add fresh-ground pepper to taste.
Bake for 15 minutes in a 350 degrees pre-heated oven in the top/middle rack;
then move the dish to the low/middle rack and raise the temperate to 450 degrees for an additional 10 minutes.
Watch your tomatoes and other ingredients closely.
You want them to roast and let-out all their yummy liquid goodness, without burning or drying.
Add all of the ingredients, including all of the liquid and oil from your baking dish in your blender.
Add the cilantro and tomato bouillon cube.
Use the "liquefy" option in your blender until the ingredients finish in a smooth consistency.
Serve immediately, and garnish with croutons.
The lovely folks at J.R. Watkins gave me the tasty herbs that helped me create this flavorful soup. No financial compensation was provided. Recipe and photos are my own.
