Oven Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

A few weeks ago I had the chance to take the boys to Jubilee Biodynamic Farm in Carnation, WA.  A friend of mine gets a weekly CSA share there and was going to be traveling, so she asked if we would like to take hers for the week.  I jumped at the chance.  I’d heard of the program and I had wanted to check it out before committing!

We had a great time at the farm, picking flowers and raspberries, making friends, and going on a hayride.

And we came home with an enormous veggie haul….

…with a lot of tomatoes!

My friend had not only gotten us all set up at the farm, but she had also included a recipe that she liked to use for marinara sauce.  I made it the next day, and really liked it, and then served the leftovers the following day as a soup.  It was even better!

I’ve made it again a few times since then and each time we all slurp it right up!  I’ve tried so many tomato soups, trying to achieve that “Campbell’s” quality that I remember from childhood, but none of them add up.  I’ve used cashews, hemp seeds, slices of bread—you name it, but nothing gave it the right texture and flavor.  Turns out that you don’t need any “cream” agent at all to make creamy tomato soup!

Try my easy 5 ingredient recipe while the tomatoes are perfectly ripe!  Serve it up with some grilled Chao cheese and take a picture.  Then follow me on Instagram,
and tag your picture  with #frieddandelions so that I can see!

Still have more tomatoes?  Try these recipes:
Tomato Basil Sauce
Tomato Zucchini Crisp
Oven Roasted Salsa
Tomato Zucchini Soup
Watermelon Gazpacho
Moroccan Garbanzo Soup

Oven Roasted Tomato Basil Soup, serves 6
4 pounds tomatoes, woody stems removed, sliced into big chunks
1 head of garlic, peeled but cloves left whole
1/4 cup olive oil
2 ounces basil
1/2 t salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 c veggie stock (I like to use 1 cup of warm water with 1 tsp of Better Than Boullion No Chicken)

Preheat oven to 250°.

Line a large baking sheet (with sides) with parchment paper.  Place tomatoes, garlic, and basil on the sheet as shown in pictures.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Place veggies into the oven and roast for 3 hours (yes, THREE hours—this helps the flavors develop and stay nice and mellow!).  The veggies will wilt and produce a fair amount of liquid.  Carefully remove tray from the oven and transfer the veggies and liquid into a high powered blender (alternately you can place in a pot and use your immersion blender).  Holding the parchment paper carefully, use it to pour the liquid into the blender. Add the veggie stock and carefully blend (watch out for splatters—it will be hot!).  Adjust seasoning to taste.

You can transfer this to a pot on the stovetop and simmer over a low heat until serving time if you want, but it is ready to serve as is!  Enjoy!