Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

Ingredients

·     9 medium ripe tomatoes, quartered

·     ½ large sweet onion

·     3-4 stalks of celery

·     12-15 baby carrots

·     1 ½ tsp. minced garlic (or 3 fresh cloves)

·     1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

·     2 Tablespoons olive oil

·     salt and pepper to taste 

·     3/4 cup vegetable (or chicken) stock

·     1 Tablespoon lemon juice

·     10-12 fresh basil leaves

·     ½ t. salt

·     1/8 c. brown sugar

Instructions

ROAST THE TOMATOES (45 MINUTES):

1.   Heat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

2.   Spread tomatoes, garlic, and dried thyme on a large sheet pan.

3.   Drizzle tomatoes with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Use your hands or a large spatula to toss everything together on the sheet pan – you want to make sure the tomatoes evenly coated with oil and seasonings.

4.   Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

5.   Roast tomatoes at 425 degrees F for 40 minutes until tomatoes have shriveled. Remove from oven and let cool 5-10 minutes.

SAUTEE REMAINING VEGETABLES (15 MINUTES):

1. Chop onion, celery and carrots, and sautee in a little olive oil until onions are translucent.

BLEND THE SOUP (5 MINUTES):

1.   Transfer all vegetables to a blender.

2.   Add vegetable stock, lemon juice, brown sugar, garlic, and ½ tsp. of salt to the blender (because we’re working with so few ingredients, seasoning is key here – be sure to taste and add salt as you go!)

3.   Blend soup until smooth. We recommend blending for at least a full minute for best results!

4.   Add basil leaves to the blender and pulse.

5.   Pour soup into bowls and serve immediately. Garnish with a drizzle of olive oil and a toasted baguette slice if you like.