Roasted Tomato Soup

Roast the tomatoes rather than simmering them. Concentration and browning do what cream is usually asked to cover up.

Prep
15m
Cook
55m
Total
1h 10m
Serves
4
Effort
Easy
Scale
4
Units

Method

Roasted Tomato Soup — recipe grid
1.2 kg 1 Toss together on a tray 10m 2 Roast at 200°C / 400°F until collapsed and blackened at the edges 45m You want visible char. That bitterness is what balances the sweetness. 3 Blend until completely smooth, then loosen with stock 5m A proper blender, not a stick blender, if you want it silky.
2
1
6 cloves
3 tbsp
1 tsp
500 ml
1 tsp
a handful
Read left to right: ingredients merge into steps, and the rightmost cell is the last thing you do. Steps account for 1h of hands-on and cooking time.

Roasting instead of simmering

A simmered tomato soup is diluted by definition: you add liquid, then boil some of it off. Roasting removes water while the sugars caramelise and the skins char, so you start with a more concentrated, more complex base and add stock only to reach the consistency you want.

Notes

  • Squeeze the roasted garlic out of its skins into the blender. Roasting it in the skin keeps it from burning.
  • No need to peel or deseed. A decent blender handles both, and the skins carry flavour.
  • If it tastes thin, it needs salt and vinegar before it needs cream.

Try butter, 30 minutes, braise, or an ingredient you need to use up.