Seduced by the sight of plump, red, juicy tomatoes (maybe they even winked at me), I bought a few kilos more than I needed. But no complaints, when I was yearning for a fresh, light, al fresco lunch on a Saturday afternoon, my gorgeous, crimson, Rubenesque beauties were just ripe for the
cooking. A lazy Saturday meant making a minimal fuss meal and this roasted tomato soup had the required resume. Loaded with lip-smacking flavour, the soup pretty much cooks on it own. My son and I enjoyed it with a crisp baguette, in our garden, under the winter sun.
Roasted Tomato Soup
An Italian-accented tomato soup with fragrant basil and garlic
Ingredients
- 700 g ripe plum tomatoes quartered (keep their stalks on)
- 4-5 garlic cloves unpeeled
- 1 large white onion quartered
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup fresh sweet basil
- 3 tbsp red wine optional
- 1 heaped tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- 11/2 tsp sugar
- Salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C, arrange the tomatoes, onions and garlic on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil (keep some oil aside for garnishing).
- Roast in the oven for a hour or till the tomatoes are lightly browned at the edges and somewhat shrivelled (check in between to ensure that the garlic doesn't burn and remove them if they roast quicker).
- Cool the vegetables slightly before puréeing in a pot with an immersion blender. You can make it as chunky or smooth as you wish. Dilute with required amount of water or stock and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper and add the wine. Simmer for 5-7 minutes for the alcohol to cook off, turn off the heat and mix in the basil leaves (they will slightly wilt with the heat so do not cook them). Ladle with extra virgin olive oil and serve.
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