I woke up to pouring rain this morning, and it was a
struggle to get out of bed. What I really,
really,
really wanted to do was stay home in my jammies and cook something delicious. Currently on my list of "Why Don't I Have Time to Make This?!" are chocolate chip banana bread (craving that in a serious way!) and split pea and ham soup (also craving that badly). I have all the ingredients for both, I just haven't actually had the time to make them - and I still won't, as we have a jam-packed weekend ahead of us. While it will be fun, I'm just a smidge disappointed that I can't spend my Saturday wrapped in my apron, filling my house with the foodie-smells of fall. Dreamsss.
But then, as I was sitting as my desk this morning, it hit me -
the exact recipe that I have to share. Drum roll please....
roasted tomato soup with broiled cheddar.
This recipe is from Smitten Kitchen, and I made it last winter and then forgot about it. I don't know how - it is one of the most amazing things I've ever eaten. It's so simple, but it hits that "comfort food" spot dead-on. The soup has incredible flavor from the roasted tomatoes - it doesn't taste at all like "ketchup and milk" (which is the reason C usually won't eat tomato soup). You can obviously just put together a batch of it and eat it out of a bowl, but I did it just like it's pictured: French Onion Soup style, with a piece of French bread floated on top and buried under a mound of broiled sharp cheddar cheese. Life-changing.
This is the soup that my tomato-soup-and-grilled-cheese loving heart is made of. As if all that wasn't incentive enough to make it, it's actually really, really easy, too! Most of the time required is spent waiting for the tomatoes to roast. So worth it, though!
I'm practically drooling over the idea of a piping-hot bowl of this soup with a sourdough bread & sharp cheddar grilled cheese next to it....
ahhhhh. Someone make this soup for me! I will love you forever.
Roasted Tomato Soup with Broiled Cheddar
Recipe from Smitten Kitchen
Serves 4 (though closer to 6 if served in mugs)
Soup
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 or 1/4 teaspoon dried
1/4 teaspoon (or more to taste) dried crushed red pepper
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
Lid
4 1-inch slices from a large loaf of rye bread, whole wheat sourdough or bread of your choice (or 16 1-inch slices from a baguette), toasted until hard and lightly buttered on one side
1 tablespoon grated raw onion
1 cup coarsely grated cheddar (or more to taste)
Make soup: 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 (I used 1 full teaspoon of Kosher salt). 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, 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.
Create cheddar lid: Preheat oven to 350. Arrange four ovenproof soup bowls, crocks or large mugs on a large, foil-lined baking sheet. Stir grated onion into the warm soup. (I love this last-minute suggestion of onion.) Float toast slice(s) in each bowl, buttered side up and divide grated cheese generously over top. (If you’re using a wide bowl, you might find that you want more cheese to create a thick, broiled lid.) Bake soups on tray for 15 to 20 minutes, until cheese on top is bubbling and brown at the edges. If you’d like it even more bronzed on top, preheat your broiler and finish soups for a minute or two under it. Serve immediately.
