Roasted Tomato and Garlic Soup

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.
Bake at 400F 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.

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

Heirloom Tomatoes - Growing, Cooking, Appreciating

It's finally heirloom tomato season here. They arrived at the farm stand last week, at the farmer's market the week before. Ugly and strange, large and mottled. Purple, orange, yellow, green, pink, red and even chocolate brown. (Haven't seen White Queen yet, but I'm sure it's just a few days behind.)

I have always loved the heirlooms, appreciated their fragility and lusciousness. Then I spent some time drooling over Amy Goldman's beautiful ode to these fruits, The Heirloom Tomato (http://amzn.com/159691291X ) and fell in love all over again.

There were high hopes for my own garden's heirloom tomatoes, grown from seed and patiently transplanted at the beginning of the summer. Here is the sad report:

2 Kelloggs Breakfast plants have produced one tomato, not yet ripe
1 Black Krim plant has produced 6 tomatoes, one ripened (and luscious) and five still growing and ripening
1 Brandywine plant has no tomatoes at all
1 Hillbilly plant has no tomatoes at all
1 Mr. Stripey has no tomatoes at all
1 German Johnson has 14 tomatoes, all still ripening
10 Roma plants have about 50 tomatoes, all still ripening. Found 4 this morning with advanced blossom end rot.

Beyond the tomatoes - all the kale leaves have been stripped to the rib. The cucumber plant on the fence has produced only one cucumber, stopped growing, turned yellow, then, suddenly yesterday, put out what looks to be healthy new growth. The other cucumber gave me four lovely cucumbers, and is now dying slowly - one leaf at a time. But also has put out what looks to be more healthy growth?

There is one ripening eggplant and seven or eight flowers on four plants.

The Swiss Chard is doing well and tastes really great.

I am overwhelmed with jalapenos, cayenne and Thai bird peppers. But I have put together a jalapeno popper recipe that is so tasty: 2 oz cream cheese + 2 oz cheddar cheese, grated + 1 tsp or more Siraccha sauce, stir & stuff jalapeno halves (clean out ribs and seeds wearing gloves). Wrap with proscuitto. Bake @ 400 for 12-15 min. Cool for a moment, then serve.

This week, I am trying to capture the flavor of heirloom tomatoes in soup and I think I've hit upon a winner. And it's ridiculously easy.

Roasted Heirloom Vegetable Soup
serves 6-8

10-12 heirloom tomatoes
12 cloves of good garlic, peeled
1 medium yellow onion, rough chopped
3-4 heirloom carrots, rough chopped
optional: 2-3 heirloom beets, scrubbed
1/2 c chopped herbs, your choice - for instance - parsley, cilantro, mint, basil, thai basil, celery leaves
2-3 c. liquid - vegetable or chicken stock, water, vegetable or tomato juice
Salt & pepper
Olive oil

Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.
Preheat oven to 425
Wash tomatoes and cut in half horizontally.
You'll need enough to fill - really fill - the cookie sheet.
Place the tomatoes cut side up on the sheet, and tuck in the rest of the vegetables to cover the sheet entirely.

Pour about 1/4-1/3 cup of olive oil over all of this, generously sprinkle with salt and fresh ground pepper. Roast the vegetables for about an hour to 1.5 hours, until just starting to caramelize on the edges.

Pull the pan from the oven and peel the beets as soon as you can handle them. Dump everything into a big stockpot. Add your liquid, simmer for about 30 minutes and then toss in the herbs.


Now, you can either blend with a stick blender or in small batches in your blender. Or, do as I do, and use a food mill to get the seeds and skins and make for a more consistent texture. To serve, pour hot soup into heated bowls and top with a swirl of fresh cream, sour cream or creme fraiche and a sprinkling of chives. Serve with a grilled cheese sandwich and a small salad. Perfect dinner.

By the way, this soup freezes beautifully and tastes like summer when you defrost it in the winter.