Roasted Tomato Soup

A year or so ago I saw an episode of Tyler's Ultimate on the Food Network where Tyler Florence made homemade tomato soup- from roasting the tomatoes to blending them at the end. It looked fantastic! The problem? Tomatoes are inexpensive, abundant, and much more flavorful in the Summer, but soup is a Winter dish. As my Dad would say, "we have a big problem." Well, we have had an odd Summer, to say the least. It was very warm a week ago, warm enough for my tomatoes to finally ripen, and cool for a couple of days, cool enough to have soup for dinner. Problem solved! Last night I made the soup and Ryan made grilled cheese sandwiches to go with it and we couldn't be happier with the results. I used Tyler's recipe as the base, but made some healthy adjustments. Enjoy!

Roasted Tomato Soup

2 1/2- 3 pounds fresh tomato 'medley' (I used a combination of plums, cherry, yellow pear, and an unknown tomato I found in the garden)

5 garlic cloves, peeled

1/2 of a large yellow onion, diced

1 carrot, chopped in small pieces

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (optional: I liked it without the vinegar, but Ryan liked it with)

Salt

Pepper

2 cups chicken stock

1 cup basil leaves, torn

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.

Wash, and cut the tomatoes in half. Trim the "nubs" off the larger tomatoes; it's ok to leav on the cherry tomatoes. Place the tomatoes in a baking dish. Add garlic cloves, onion, and carrots. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and sprinkle the salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes; until the tomatoes start to turn brown and caramelize.

Transfer the tomatoes, onion, carrot, and garlic to a large soup pot. Add the chicken stock. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add the basil leaves. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup. Or use a blender and work in batches. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve.

The wonderful tomatoes that made this soup!