Roasted Tomato Bisque

The garden clean out produced more ripe tomatoes, and with the cooler weather a warm tomato soup is in order.  We had grilled cheese sandwiches with the soup--what else??

First step is to cut the tomatoes in half or quarters.  Arrange on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle on salt and pepper.  I also added some slices of garlic.  

Roast in a 350 oven until nice and soft.

Here are the tomatoes out of the oven.  The aroma is amazing.

Next step, put the tomatoes and all the pan drippings into a large dutch oven.  

Simmer and add the remaining ingredients.

Here's the entire recipe from Sweet Pea's Kitchen

5 1/4 pounds ripe but firm tomatoes, cored and quartered, divided

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon light brown sugar

4 carrots, peeled and chopped (I used some canned carrots)

2 shallots, quartered

4 garlic cloves, crushed (I roasted the garlic with my tomatoes)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 tablespoons dry sherry (I used dry white wine)

1 to 2 cups chicken broth, divided

1/4 cup heavy cream (I used half and half, but go ahead and use cream if you have it)

1 tablespoon basil, chopped

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil; set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the 3 1/2 pounds of quartered tomatoes, olive oil, light brown sugar, carrots, shallots and garlic, and toss to coat. Season the vegetables lightly with salt and pepper. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet and roast until caramelized, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. When the tomatoes are cool enough to handle, peel off the skins and discard. Transfer the tomato flesh along with the rest of the roasted mixture to a large dutch oven and set aside.
Add 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, crushed red pepper, tomato paste, dry sherry, remaining 1 3/4 pounds of tomatoes and 1 cup chicken broth to the dutch oven and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer until the vegetables are very tender, about 15 minutes.
Using an immersion blender, blend the soup until smooth.
Add the heavy cream and return to simmer. Season to taste with salt, and pepper. If desired, add more chicken stock until your desired consistency. Sprinkle each bowl with basil before serving.

Enjoy Friends!

Garden Bounty -- Roasted Roma Tomatoes

Instead of canning Roma or Plum Tomatoes, another method is to roast them and then freeze to store them for later.  These make a great pizza or pasta sauce, just add some Italian seasonings, and blend with an immersion blender.  Here's how they look after roasting for about 1 hour in a 400 degree oven.

Cut the tomatoes in half lengthwise, cut out the core and remove the seeds.  

Place on a foil lined baking sheet.

Drizzle with good olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper.

Place in the 400 degree oven and roast until they are a little charred and a bit dried on the edges.

Get some freezer bags ready. Label freezer bags with contents and date.

Place roasted tomatoes in the freezer bag in a single layer.  Zip closed and place in the freezer.

Then on a cold snowy day when you make homemade pizza, 

use these tomatoes from the garden to make the best sauce ever.  

Enjoy friends!