Simple Pleasures

Roasted Tomato Soup

The soup that proves simple is not the same as settling. Sweet, slow-roasted tomatoes and a handful of fresh basil, finished with a torn crust of good bread instead of a fussy crouton. This is Sunday food — the kind that fills the kitchen with a smell that means everything is going to be okay.

Minutes

1-2

Servings

Easy

Difficulty

Ingredients

2 lbs.Roma tomatoes, quartered
4garlic cloves, unpeeled
3 tablespoonsolive oil
2 cupsvegetable stock
1/4 cupfresh basil leaves, torn
2 slicescrusty bread, torn into pieces
To tastesalt and freshly ground black pepper

A note

This freezes beautifully — make a double batch on a slow Sunday and thank yourself on a Wednesday you don’t feel like cooking.

Instructions

01
Heat the oven to 425°F. Toss the tomatoes and garlic with 2 tbsp olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes, until blistered and jammy.
02
While the tomatoes roast, warm the remaining oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and translucent, about 8 minutes.
03
Squeeze the roasted garlic from its skins into the pot. Add the roasted tomatoes and their juices, along with the stock. Simmer for 10 minutes.
04
Blend until smooth — carefully, in batches, if using a countertop blender. Stir in the torn basil.
05
Ladle into a bowl just for you. Top with torn bread and a final crack of pepper. Sit down. Eat it slowly.