Winter is not yet done with Santa Fe. And I am thrilled. I love winter. So I was not disappointed when we were graced with a blanket of snow the other day. I made what I think may have been one of the last fires of the season and savored a bowl of roasted tomato-basil soup that was waiting in the freezer for a night just like that.
A few weeks ago, I hosted my book club and served this soup as the entree. It was a hit and I loved how impressed everyone was. It is a very flavorful and rich soup that does not disappoint. To boost this simple meal, I went to our city’s best, best, best bread shop called, The Bread Shop, and scored a few 4″x6″ chunks of sea salt focaccia and an exquisite sourdough boule.
Roasting the Tomatoes Makes Simple Tomato Soup Sensational
This Ina Garten recipe comes together without heavy lifting and barely any lifting. In fact, I found this soup quite rewarding to make. Considering how rich and satisfying it is to eat, one would assume the recipe is a bit more complicated. But the simplicity is perhaps why it’s so wonderful.
Roasting the Roma tomatoes adds a much-needed layer of complexity to this classic, but often boring recipe. The canned tomatoes add a welcome glug of liquid and another layer of tomato flavor. Garlic, onion, thyme, basil and red pepper flakes are the base and then there’s the broth–chicken or vegetable broth–to bring it all together.
After the soup simmers for 40 minutes, use an immersion blender to puree this bright red and beautiful bowl of goodness.
Soup for Dinner
It’s as simple as that. Serve with a bountiful salad and crusty bread or a classic grilled cheese and your crew will beg for this dinner again and again. One bite of this soup and everyone will concur, “I can’t believe we used to think Campbell’s tomato soup was good…we will never go back.” And you can relax knowing you have elevated the culinary standards for those you love with a super simple roasted tomato-basil soup.
Buen provecho!
Roasted Tomato-Basil Soup
By bringing two kinds of tomatoes into the recipe--roasted Roma tomatoes and canned tomatoes--the tomato flavor profile is already amped up. The addition of alliums and spices makes this one of the best and simplest tomato soups you will ever make. It comes together without much effort but it tastes like it cooked all day.
Ingredients
- 3 lbs Roma tomatoes washed, ends cut off and halved lengthwise
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil plus 2 tablespoons
- 1 tablespoon kosher or sea salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- 2 medium yellow onions, chopped about 2 cups
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 28-ounce can plum tomatoes and the juice
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
- 1 quart chicken or vegetable stock
- garnish with fresh Parm, torn basil and/or lots of freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Toss together the tomatoes, salt, pepper and 1/4 cup olive oil. Spread evenly--cut side down--on baking sheet and cook for 40 minutes, or until slightly golden.
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In a soup pot over medium heat, add the 2 tablespoons olive oil and butter and saute the onions, garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook for 10 minutes until the onions begin to brown a bit.
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Add the canned tomatoes, basil, thyme and stock.
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Add the roasted tomatoes, including any juice on the baking sheet. Bring the soup to a boil, lower the temperature to a simmer and cook uncovered for 40 minutes.
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Use an immersion blender to make this easy on yourself or choose a food mill or a blender. But be careful to not puree the soup so it's too smooth. I prefer a bit of tomato substance in there.
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Taste for seasoning, adjusting as needed. Serve hot with salad and a grilled cheese or crusty bread to make this a meal worth remembering.
When he opened the bag of blue cornmeal atole to let me smell the impeccably roasted blue corn flour, this is definitely not the traditional blue cornmeal I have purchased in stores. This is something far superior. 
Though we tried to make a reservation at Contramar, it was a Friday and there were no reservations available, so they suggested their sister restaurant, Entremar–which they claim has the same menu. And there we landed for our inaugural lunch in the traffic-infested capital city of 20 million people in a country we called home for more than five years. It was good to be en casa otra vez (home again).
It was a clear day on the verdant and mountainous drive to Puebla. As we neared the very industrial, colonial and sparking clean city, we gasped as we passed the extraordinarily spectacular 
To soak in the scene that is the zocalo, where everyone gathers in Puebla and passes through, where balloons are sold, where the giant fountain soothes the senses and blocks out the city’s noise, where benches are filled with ages young to old, where people are walking hand-in-hand and kissing, where people are on their way to work or back from school, we gave into our usually rigid epicurean drive and settled in at the Hotel Royalty where we dined on traditional Pueblan dishes including escamoles (ant eggs), chalupas and the famous pollo con mole–all while two musicians played the (somewhat annoying) marimba. This was as close to the heart of the Pueblan people we could get and it was a calming rush that is and always will be the Mexico we treasure.
