Cream of Roasted Tomato Soup

 

I love Tomato soup.  I have childhood memories of my mom opening a can of Campbell’s tomato soup. She let the paste plop in the pot, adding only a can of milk, then brought it to a boil. It was the best segue to a grilled cheese sandwich ever invented.

 

What? Isn’t that how everyone’s mom made Tomato soup? Maybe your mom used water instead of milk?

So if it didn’t come in a can or took more than a half hour to make, my mom didn’t make it!!

I rethought my idea of what tomato soup should be on a skiing trip to Taos, New Mexico a few years ago. One Friday night during Lent, after a great day of skiing at Angel Fire, we decide to go into town for Pizza. We decided that cheese pizza would work for dinner on a Friday during Lent. We were driving along the main drag and saw a sign for “Outback Pizza.” We literally drove out back behind the string shopping center to find it. The place looked like a dump; we hesitated going in We decided to take our chances and I am so glad we did.

Taos Pizza has the best Italian food I’ve ever had!!! No really, they did!!  Who would think that one would find the best Italian food in Taos, New Mexico? Certainly not me!!

 

 

One taste of their Sweet Tomato Basil soup and I knew this is what tomato soup was supposed to taste like. I begged the waitress to get me the recipe, but to no avail. So I decided I would try to find a recipe that was as good as theirs. The following recipe is the closest I could come to replicating it.

We served this soup every day at the café. I had more compliments on it than I can remember. I also won a soup contest at work with it along with numerous people asking for the recipe.

So with the help of my friend Melissa (she took the pictures) this is my very first recipe I’m posting!!

I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. And if you ever find yourself in the Taos area, please try Outback Pizza!

Teri

Cream of Roasted Tomato Soup

1 large can of whole peeled tomatoes (18oz?)
8 garlic cloves peeled
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried basil
2 + tablespoons of olive oil
1 medium onion (I use sweet onion but you can use yellow or whatever you have on hand)
1 small can of tomato paste
¼ cup of red wine
4 cups of water
4 cubes of vegetable stock (enough for the 4 cups of water)
1/3 cup of white sugar
¾ cup of heavy cream

Take the can of whole peeled tomatoes and put tomatoes on a cookie sheet and cut in half; reserve the juice. Take the garlic cloves and sprinkle them on the tomatoes along with the oregano and basil, then drizzle with olive oil. Put in a 450° oven for 25 minutes. If the tomatoes burn on the edges, it’s ok. When the tomatoes are done, let them cool down a little. Then puree the tomatoes, garlic, basil and oregano in the blender. Set aside.

Chop the onion. Heat the two tablespoons of olive oil in a pot, when the olive oil is hot, add the onions and sauté the onions until they are tender and translucent.

 Add the tomato paste and stir with the onions.  

Then add the roasted tomato puree to the pot, pour in the tomato juice that you set aside from the can, add the water and wine. Add the bullions and the sugar to the soup. Stir until all is combined. Bring soup to a boil. Once soup is boiling, take off the heat and stir in the heavy cream.

 Ladle into a soup bowl and garnish with fresh basil or sour cream. Serve with a side of grilled cheese and you are good to go!