Tomato Soup, But Make It Smoky
Roasting the tomatoes first turns a simple soup into something deep, sweet and a little bit charred.
Most tomato soup tastes of the tin it came from. This one tastes of the oven. Roasting tomatoes, onion and garlic on a single tray until they blister at the edges gives you sweetness and smoke before a pot is even involved.
The idea
High heat drives water out of the tomatoes and browns their sugars. That browning is flavour you cannot get by simmering alone. Everything then goes into a pot with stock for ten minutes and gets blended smooth.
What you need (serves 4)
- 1 kg ripe tomatoes, halved
- 1 red onion, in wedges
- 6 garlic cloves, unpeeled
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 600 ml vegetable stock
- A splash of cream or a spoon of yoghurt, to serve
How to cook it
- Roast. Heat the oven to 220°C / 425°F. Toss the tomatoes, onion and garlic with the oil, paprika and plenty of salt on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast for 30–35 minutes, until soft and charred in places.
- Simmer. Squeeze the garlic from its skins into a pot. Add everything from the tray, including the juices, and the stock. Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Blend. Blend until smooth. Taste, then add salt and a pinch of sugar if the tomatoes were sharp.
Make it a meal
Grilled cheese is the obvious partner, and it is obvious for a reason. For something lighter, toast cubes of stale bread in olive oil until crisp and pile them on top with torn basil.
Line the tray with parchment and the washing up takes ten seconds.
The soup keeps for four days in the fridge and freezes well, so a double batch is never wasted. A sturdy rimmed baking sheet does the heavy lifting here.
