Roasted Tomato Soup

I love summer. Mostly because school is out and my job is 100 times easier with no children at work. The other great thing about summer is tomatoes. Tomatoes are wonderful diverse food that can be anything. I am happy eating tomatoes every day at any meal.

This tomato soup is full, rich, mildly sweet. It's simple and lovely. It can be the base for other soups, like gazpacho, or just good on its own. It takes some time, but it easy and worth the wait.

Roasted Tomato Soup
INGREDIENTS

3 pounds roma tomatoes 
olive oil
1 red onion
1 shallot
3 cups chicken broth
salt and pepper

1) Preheat the broiler. Line the broiler pan with foil. Cut each tomato in half and lay them out on the pan. Drizzle olive oil over the tomatoes.

2) Broil the tomatoes for about ten minutes or until blistered and charred.

3) Let the tomatoes cool completely. Gently peel the skin from each tomato. Cut the stem end from each one.

4) Dice the shallot and onion. A trick to tear-free onion cutting: place the onion in the freezer for about five minutes first. No more tears!

5) Saute the onion and shallot in a large stock pot with a little olive oil until tender, about ten minutes.

6) Roughly chop the tomatoes and add to the stock pot. Add salt and pepper to taste. Try to be on the light side. It's always easy to add more salt later. It's hard to take it out. Cook over medium low heat for about 15 to 20 minutes to develop the flavors.

7) Cool the tomato/onion mixture until cool enough to handle. Pour in to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

8) Return to the pot and add 3 cups of chicken broth. Simmer over medium heat for 15-20 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

A little basil and some fresh ground pepper. Yummy!