September 16, 2010

When I was a little girl, there was nothing quite like my grandmother’s cheese toasty sandwiches and Campbells Cream of Tomato soup, reconstituted with milk. She would spread CheezWhiz on white bread and pop it into the toaster oven until the cheese bubbled. I know. Awful, right? But that’s what love tasted like to a five year old.

There are many winter days when what I want for lunch is a ramped up version of my childhood comfort. The time to plan for those winter days is now – as the tomatoes fade from the markets.

I take thick pieces of challah or Italian loaf, a slab of Fontina or Cheddar, a swath of apple chutney or fig jam or peach salsa. Sometimes, it’s pieces of pear with Brie, or nectarines and mozzerella. Sometimes it’s Comte and bacon.

Grill the sandwich in plenty of butter. Weigh it down with a pan and a tea kettle. Let the cheese warm slowly until it’s all melty.Let the sandwich rest for a moment or two after it comes out of the pan, then cut in half to serve.

And the soup? Rich and tomato-y, whispers of roasted sweet garlic, hearty chicken broth as a base, and basil brightness. Top with a dollop of creme fraiche or sour cream. Or just stir some heavy cream into the soup as it heats.

Roasted Tomato and Garlic Soup
This recipe can be pressure canned or frozen. Cream is added when the soup is reheated.
Makes about 6 pints

15-20 tomatoes
2 carrots, chop roughly
1 large onion, quartered
2 whole heads garlic, peeled, not crushed
olive oil
3 cups fresh, homemade, chicken broth, skimmed of fat
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil — (or 1 Tbsp. dried)

Preheat oven to 425°
Core tomatoes and cut in half. Place, cut side up, on parchment covered cookie sheet. Add carrots, onion and garlic. Brush with olive oil.
Roast at 425°F for about an hour, or until veggies are roasted and a little blackened.
Blend with a stick blender (or in small batches in a blender) until smooth. Throw the basil in and blend some more.
Place in a large saucepan with the chicken broth and simmer for 10 minutes.

To can: Process in a pressure canner, pints for 60 min. and quarts for 70 min. at 11# of pressure (dial gauge.)

To serve: Warm soup in a saucepan. Add cream to taste. Serve garnished with chives or frizzled shallots.

28 Responses to “Roasted Tomato and Garlic Soup”

  1. Liz the Chef

    Good heavens but this looks good…Weather is cool enough to wedge this into my meal-planning, maybe bump ahead to first place!

    Reply
  2. Sylvie

    I literally was thinking about tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich yesterday on my way home from work and thought that I needed to find a good tomato soup recipe. THANK YOU! I will try to make this during the weekend. Will get my supplies from the White House Farmers Market today!

    Reply
  3. Cornelius

    this looks great! i've never made homemade tomato soup before, but this looks sooooo much better than that stuff in a can!

    Reply
  4. Sis. Boom.

    Lovely! I made the lemon thyme configure you featured on NPR and now can't wait to make this soup. Somehow they seem to want to be consumed at the same time — a grilled cheese to be their common friend. Thanks! Love your blog Mrs. W!

    Reply
  5. Amy

    that sounds awesome. I love grilled cheese & tomato soup – and since we're having a fall drizzly day today, I might have to find some for lunch.

    Yum!

    Reply
  6. Lisa

    Hi! I made your recipe for fig confitures and they look lovely but I have a processing question. I ended up with more jam than I could put in jars and process at one time and I put the remainder in the fridge. I have enough to fill several more jars. Can I reheat it and fill additional jars and process them safely? This would be a day after I made the recipe.
    Thanks so much,
    Lisa

    Reply
  7. MrsWheelbarrow

    Hi Lisa, so glad you made the jam! Yes, just bring the figs back up to a hard boil, then process.

    Reply
  8. Susan

    I made this soup today with tomatoes and basil that I bought at the farmers market. It is so delicious and healthful. I’m watching my calories and trying to lower my sugar and salt intake as well as doing my best to eliminate procesed foods from our diets. Next time I make the soup I will also roast extra vegetables so I can serve them on pasta and save the soup for lunches and dinners. Thank you!

    Reply
  9. maxie

    Just happened onto your website. Since it’s usually hot when tomatoes are ripe, I roast my tomato soup on the gas grill outside. You have to stir it often to avoid too much char, but it works beautifully!

    Reply
  10. ann

    Thank you so much! I have been searching for the guidelines to pressure can roasted tomato soup and have not had luck until now. My recipe is almost identical to yours minus the carrot. Now I know I can safely pressure cook this soup! Thanks again,

    By the way, I am also wanting to make peach cobbler, minus the cobbler, to pressure can. Do you happen to have a recipe for that?

    Reply
    • Cathy

      Yes, you can use vegetable broth. As to what that will do to the flavor, I really can’t say! But there’s no reason this can’t be a vegetarian soup.

      Reply
  11. Kim

    I made this and canned it. I made the rookie mistake of leaving the peels on the tomatoes before canning. Ruined the batch. I have been so excited to make again. I might can again. I’m a little skittish. This is one of the best soup mixes I’ve made. I plan to make as much as I can this year! Thanks for your recipe.

    Reply
    • Cathy

      Hi Kim, You might be able to put the soup through a vitamix or other strong blender to smooth out the peels. Glad you like it. I think it’s delicious! -Cathy

      Reply
      • Kim

        Hi Kim again! Processed a batch 2 weeks ago. Pulled skins & whoop whoop success! Just tested the jar after pressure canning. So glad I just bought 75# more to play with today. Thanks again for a great recipe!

        Reply
  12. Jennifer

    Cathy, can I make this soup with Roma tomatoes? How many do you think it would take in terms of pounds or cups? Thank you!

    Reply

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