Creamy Roasted Tomato Soup

Another recipe from Oh She Glows.  I love that site.  I almost get overwhelmed whenever I visit it though.  I want to make everything.  I want to print her entire blog.  Too much good stuff over there.  This is one that I saw and had to make.  And I'm not a big tomato soup fan.  Well...not a Campbell's tomato soup fan that is.  But I know everyone else in my family is and I do love roasted tomatoes.  This one just called my name.  I used 3 lbs. of Roma tomatoes.  It was just right.  One thing that wasn't right was her baking times.  Holy smokes!  You should have seen my onions!  Nothing but black rings.  Very sad.  I had to start completely over with the onions.  Good thing they are the fastest!  I'll post the times I used.  I find that with a lot of her recipes.  The oven temp is too hot and/or it's cooked too long.  Maybe it's because she's from Canada? :)  But anyway, this soup was awesome and everyone in my family loved it.  I added croutons on top and it was surprisingly filling.  We had it with salad.  So good!  The baby had a big piece of whole grain bread torn up in his to soak up the juices so he could eat it by himself better but other than that, no additions were made.  Don't leave out the garam masala!  I forgot to reserve my coconut milk for garnish.  But check out her pictures.  Very "pretty" soup.  Mine looks NOTHING like hers.  Guess I blended mine too much.  I'm hoping it tasted the same though!  But regardless...it was delicious!

Creamy Roasted Tomato Soup

Roasting vegetables:

3-5 pounds of Roma tomatoes, washed & sliced in half

1 large sweet onion, peeled & sliced

1 large garlic bulb, prepared for roasting

extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt, & pepper, for vegetables

Soup:

3 cups roasted tomatoes

2 tbsp roasted garlic flesh (I just used the whole thing)

All of the roasted sweet onion

1 can light coconut milk (reserve 2-3 tbsp for garnish)

3 cups vegetable broth (I used low-sodium)

2 tbsp tomato paste

2 tsp garam masala

1 tsp salt or to taste (you may have to reduce amt. if you used full-sodium broth)

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

For garnish: garlic croutons, coconut milk, pesto, herbs, garam masala, pepper, etc.

1. Preheat oven to 400F and line 2 baking sheets with tin foil (note that parchment paper will burn). Grab a small casserole dish to place the garlic in. For how to prepare the garlic, see this tutorial. Lightly drizzle on EVOO onto onions and season onions and tomatoes with S & P. Place onions on one baking sheet and the tomatoes on the other.  Roast for about 10-15 minutes and then check on the vegetables. The onions will most likely be done as they cook the quickest. When the onions are golden and lightly blackened on the edge, you can remove them. Continue roasting the tomatoes and the garlic for about 30-45 minutes or so. The tomatoes might take just a little longer than the garlic.  Your oven times will vary though, so keep an eye on them.

2. Add 3 cups roasted tomatoes, 2 tbsp roasted garlic flesh, and all the onion into a large pot. Add coconut milk, tomato paste, and broth and stir well.

3. Stir in the seasonings and spices to taste. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 5-10 minutes.

4. Carefully transfer into a blender, processor, or use an immersion blender. Pulse for just a few seconds until chunky. You can also make it smooth, but I liked the texture. Serve immediately and garnish with reserved coconut milk, a sprinkle of garam masala, croutons/bread, and fresh black pepper.

Yield:  6 cups