Tomato Soup Two Ways

There is one very big advantage to being back at school: the tomatoes at the Farmer's Market here are magical.  They are so sweet, and there are so many lovely varieties.  Week after week, they keep coming.  Yes, they will eventually end, but I find it amazing that even in October I can still get firm and flavor-packed tomatoes.

To take full advantage of tomato season, I made two different tomato soups...all the while eating pint after pint of cherry tomatoes of all colors.

The first soup came about after a conversation with my favorite tomato vendor.  I asked him what the best tomatoes would be for a soup...and the conversation evolved into him spilling his tomato soup secrets...

Slightly Spicy Roasted Tomato Soup
(inspired by my tomato vendor)

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds beefsteak tomatoes, cut in wedges
• 1 poblano pepper, seeds and ribs removed, cut into large pieces
• 1 onion, cut into wedges (keep the layers together)
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 3 cloves garlic, don't peel!
• 3-4 cups vegetable broth

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Place the tomatoes, pepper, and onion on a baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil and then sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Wrap the unpeeled garlic in tin foil (make a little packet) and add it to the baking sheet.
4. Bake the vegetables for about an hour, to your desired roast-i-ness.
5. Transfer the vegetables and their juices to a bowl and allow the vegetables to cool.
6. Open the foil packet and peel the skin off the garlic.  Add the garlic to the rest of the vegetables.
7. Transfer all the vegetables to a blender or food processor.  Add 3 cups of vegetable broth.  I managed to (barely) do this in one batch, but you may need to do two.
8. Blend to your desired consistency.  I made mine very smooth.  Add more broth if it is too thick.
9. Pour the soup into a large pot and heat it over medium high heat.  Reduce the heat to low and let the soup simmer for twenty minutes or so.  Taste and adjust the seasonings.
10. Top with a parmesan crisp (see below) and eat hot or cold - both are delicious!

Oven-ready.

Roasted to perfection and ooozing juices.  The flavors have had an hour to mingle and marry inside the oven, yum!

This garlic was so sweet and sticky after being roasted!  Amazing smells coming from this packet, too.

Everyone in the bowl to rest for a while.

Yes, I filled the VitaMix to the brim...maybe not the smartest thing to do, but it worked like a charm!

Gorgeous gorgeous color.

Parmesan Crisps

Ingredients:

• shredded parmesan

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Sprinkle parmesan into 3-inch circles on the parchment paper.  Make as many as you like.  I found that they even stayed crispy on day two after being stored in a plastic baggie.
3. Bake for 5-10 minutes, checking after 5 minutes and keeping a close eye to make sure they don't burn.  You want the cheese to melt and become slightly crispy and golden.

Easiest recipe: all you do is sprinkle the cheese and bake!

Nice and golden.  

A cheesy, salty crisp for my slightly spicy soup.  A perfect pairing!

I was so in love with this soup - and correspondingly so depressed the day after I finished it all - that I knew I needed to make another one.  Obviously, it wouldn't be the same recipe.  I decided to go in a completely different direction.  While the first soup was rather naked, this soup was dressed up with some spices and coconut milk.

Coconut Curry Tomato Soup

(adapted from Oh She Glows)

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 pounds tomatoes (I used 1 1/2 inch round tomatoes...I forget what they were called)
• 1 small onion, sliced but layers kept together
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 3 large cloves garlic, don't peel!
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 2-3 cups vegetable broth
• 1 heaping tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Line a baking sheet with tin foil.
2. Slice the tomatoes in half and arrange cut side up on prepared baking sheet.
3. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4. On another baking sheet (line if you wish), arrange the onion slices and drizzle with olive oil.  Sprinkle salt and pepper on top.
5. Wrap the unpeeled garlic in tin foil (make a little packet) and add it to the baking sheet with the onions.
6. Place the tomatoes, onions, and garlic in the oven.  Roast for 30 minutes and then check the onions.  Take them out if they are starting to brown but leave the garlic in the oven.  Roast the tomatoes and garlic for a total of 1 hour or so.
7. Remove the roasted vegetables from the oven.  Place them and their juices in a large soup pot.  Peel and add the roasted garlic.
8. Add the coconut milk, 2 cups vegetable broth, tomato pastes, curry powder, and nutmeg to the soup pot.  Stir well.  
9. Bring the soup to a boil over high heat and then reduce to a simmer.  Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring often. 
10. Allow the soup to cool to lukewarm and then transfer to a blender or food processor.  Blend to your desired consistency.  You may need to add more broth if the soup is too thick.
11. Check the seasonings.  You may need to add some more curry powder, salt, or pepper, to your liking.
12. Serve hot or cold with some yummy toppings...may I suggest toasted cashews and homemade croutons?

Pretty tomatoes...and they amazingly all fit perfectly on the sheet!  This made me extremely happy :)

All roasted!

Close up.

After simmering...smells so yummy!

Ready to blenddd.  I added more veggie broth after the first blending.

Back to the stove to heat up.

Topped with toasted cashews and croutons (rye and raisin bread drizzled with olive oil and toasted in the oven then spread with extra roasted garlic I had made).

So creamy and filling.  An absolutely satisfying meal with a unique flavor combination!

Both soups were amazing and very very different, but it's hard to say which one I liked more!  The great thing was that these soups tasted fantastic both hot and cold, which was very handy for the end-of-summer scorcher days, mixed with beginning-of-fall night chilliness.

And now it's October, which means it's time for squash soups of all sorts!  Ah soup, I do love you so...