roasted tomato soup

I recently had a few weeks of big events. Such events caused a little anxiety and a lot of thinking. On one of these days I began my day, by taking a long walk with my dog. Walks help me think clear, look around, explore and admire what I would otherwise never come across. On this kind of day, I like to take things easy in the kitchen as well. I made a roasted tomato soup that evening right after a long day of anticipation and holding my breath. Making it was quite easy, I paired it with a good ol' standard. Tomato soup's BFF since way back when, the grilled cheese sandwich.


roasted tomato soup adapted from here




what you need:


3 pounds plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large or 4 small cloves garlic, unpeeled
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves (i used lemon thyme)
1/4 teaspoon (or more to taste) dried crushed red pepper
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock



what to do:



Preheat oven to 400°F. Wrap garlic cloves in a tight foil packet. Place tomatoes, cut side up, on large baking sheet. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Drizzle tomatoes with olive oil. Add foil packet of garlic to tray. Roast until tomatoes are brown and tender (garlic will be very tender), about 1 hour. Cool slightly.
Unwrap garlic packet and peel cloves. Transfer cloves, tomatoes and any accumulated juices to a blender or food processor and pulse machine on and off until tomatoes are a chunky puree. Transfer tomatoes to medium pot and add thyme(i used lemon thyme), crushed red pepper and stock and bring to a boil Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 25 minutes. Remove from heat and adjust seasonings to taste.


done. and done.