Tomato Soup with Roasted Garlic and Seasonal Herbs
Roasted garlic gives this soup a wonderfully deep flavor, so before you begin, wrap an entire head of garlic in aluminum foil and roast it at 400F until it is tender, about 30 minutes. Let it cool, cut off the papery stem end, and then squeeze the garlic out of the individual cloves. Save the leftover cloves to add to other dishes or to spread on toast to make oil-free garlic bread.
4tablespoonsplain non-dairy yogurtoptional, but good
Instructions
Sauté the onion and celery in a medium non-stick saucepan. When the onion is translucent, add the tomatoes, broth, oregano, rosemary, and cayenne. Simmer on very low heat for 10 minutes.
Transfer half of the soup to the blender, add the roasted garlic, and puree until fairly smooth. If you’d like a chunky soup, add the blended half back to the pot. For a smoother soup, blend the rest of the soup and return it to the pot.
Add the parsley and salt and pepper to taste, and simmer for about 10 minutes to allow the flavors to blend. Taste the soup, and if it is too acidic, add a little agave nectar or sugar, just enough to take the edge off. Ladle into 4 bowls, and stir a tablespoon of soy yogurt into each. Serve with croûtons, if desired.
Notes
*You can also use two cans of diced tomatoes, rather than one crushed and one diced. The crushed tomatoes give a slightly creamier texture, but if you plan to blend the soup completely, it doesn't make any difference.You can also make the soup with regular canned tomatoes that you roast yourself. The procedure is a little different, and you will need to replace the fire-roasted tomatoes with the following:
1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes (or or 2 14.5-ounce cans)
1-2 tablespoons tomato paste
Preheat oven to 450F. Line a jelly roll pan or baking sheet (the kind with a rim) with parchment paper. Drain–and reserve–all the liquid from the tomatoes. Cut each tomato in half and place it on the baking sheet. If any liquid has pooled on the sheet, pour it off and save it as well. Put the pan into the oven and roast for 25 minutes.While the tomatoes are roasting, sauté the onion and celery in a medium saucepan. When the onion begins to brown, add the tomato paste (1 tablespoon if you’re using double-strength, 2 if it’s regular paste) and stir for 1 minute. Add the broth and stir in the oregano and rosemary. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Then, pour it into a blender along with the garlic and puree until smooth. Put it back into the pan and keep warm until tomatoes are ready.When the tomatoes are cooked, remove them from the cooking sheet and put them into the blender, along with the reserved tomato juice. Blend until smooth. Pour into the pot with the onion mixture, stir in the cayenne, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste, and simmer for about 10 minutes to allow the flavors to blend. Taste the soup, and if it is too acidic, add a little agave nectar or sugar, just enough to take the edge off. Ladle into 4 bowls, and stir a tablespoon of soy yogurt into each before serving.