In the late 90s, I started a private chef business. To get ideas for my high-end clients, I bought a copy of Ina Garten's book The Barefoot Countess's Cookbook and I discovered a recipe for Roasted Tomato Soup with Basil.
I had made plenty of tomato soups before, usually with canned tomatoes, not fresh tomatoes. At one of my early jobs, I made 10-gallon batches of creamy tomato soup that tended to burn or separate if reheated improperly. Ina’s soup has none of those drawbacks, since it contains no cream or thickeners other than tomatoes. It has become a staple in my fledgling private chef business, a recipe I still make every summer.
This is a great recipe, partly because of the concentrated flavor of the roasted tomatoes and partly because Ina also uses canned tomatoes, which makes it a little less work for me. It can also be made ahead in stages or made entirely a day or two ahead, adding the basil at the last minute.
Simple Recipes / Robin Asbell
How I Make Ina's Roasted Tomato Soup
Cut about 1.5kg Roma tomatoes lengthwise, toss them with olive oil, salt and pepper, then place them, cut side down, on a high-sided baking tray. Then let the oven (set at 204°C) do the work for about 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, sauté the onions, garlic and some crushed red pepper flakes in olive oil and butter. Add a tin of plum tomatoes, thyme leaves, chicken stock (or water for vegetarians) and the roasted tomatoes. Be careful not to spill the delicious juices they release.
Let it simmer for about 40 minutes, then gently pass the soup through a food mill. If you don't have one, I recommend taking a minute to peel the skins off the roasted tomatoes with your fingers. They'll be loose enough to slide off easily, and you can then puree them in a food processor or blender. The soup should have some texture, so don't make it too smooth.
Ina adds the basil leaves with the tomatoes, but I add them later because they brown. Adding them in the last five minutes of cooking is more than enough.
