The best of the summer produce is beginning to fade, but there are still tomatoes hanging around. And of course, fall may be visible over the horizon, but it is still hot. So a nice chilled soup is a perfect way to survive these blazing days. Gazpacho is the most known cold tomato soup, or my personal favorite salmorejo, but those are both made with peak of season raw tomatoes. As the growing season comes to a close, tomatoes can often benefit from a little cooking to bring out the best of the flavor. In this soup, I roast the tomatoes and layer flavor with roasted garlic and sauteed shallots. Oregano instead of the more common basil leads this lightly into fall and a pinch of red pepper flakes adds a little spark (use more if you like). An altogether lovely bowl of soup, perfect with a salad or a sandwich or a lovely slice of that bread you bought at the farmers market with the tomatoes.
I like this soup straight up, with a little extra pinch of flaky salt, but feel free to top it with some croutons, chopped cucumber, chopped hard boiled egg, whatever suits your fancy. I’ll be honest, I started this recipe as chilled soup – and I love it that way in the heat of the summer – but the truth is, it is also delicious hot, so you get two ways to serve it in one.
Ingredients
2 1/2 pounds Roma (plum) tomatoes
1 head of garlic
Olive oil
2 large shallots
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
3 cups chicken broth
Flaky sea salt
Directions
- Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with foil. Cut the tomatoes in half and place on the prepared tray. Drizzle over just enough oil to lightly coat the tomatoes all over. Turn them cut side down. Sprinkle generously with salt. Cut the top off the whole head of garlic, exposing the tops of the cloves. Place the cut head on a small piece of foil, the drizzle some olive oil over the top just to cover the exposed cloves. Wrap the garlic up like a little hobo packet and place it in a corner of the baking tray. Roast the tomatoes and garlic for about 1 hour, until the garlic is soft when you press the packet and the tomatoes are browning and collapsing and soft. Remove from the oven to cool slightly while you get on with the rest.
- Peel and dice the shallots. Heat about 1 Tablespoon olive oil in large saucepan or deep large skillet. Add the shallots and cook, stirring frequently, until they are soft and browning. Pour in ½ cup of water and continue cooking and stirring until the water has evaporated and the shallots are lightly caramelized. Stir in the red pepper flakes and cook a further minute. Pour in the chicken broth, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Add the roasted tomatoes to the pot, then open the garlic packet (oven mitts!) and squeeze the soft pulp out into the pot. Add the oregano and a generous amount of salt. You can now either transfer the mixture to a blender and blend until smooth and return to the pot or use an immersion blender in the pot to blend it. Bring the finished soup to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Cool the soup, then chill it for several hours or overnight.
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