Baby It's Cold Outside

Perhaps cold is too strong of a word. It was mild outside today. Puts me in the mood for some nice soup. Hot soup with some fresh baked bread puts me in a super good mood.

I have a friend from college who is now a personal chef/caterer. I know what you're thinking, "She went to colleg??" I dabbled a bit. Anyway, she is always posting pictures of these fabulous things she makes and sometimes shares her recipes! This one is for Tomato Basil Soup. And away we go!

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

8-10 Roma totatoes, halved

2 large onions, quartered

4 large cloves of garlic, whole (I used an entire head of garlic)

2 cans of tomatoes (juice and all, kids)

1 Cup fresh basil or 1/4 Cup frozen (apparently Trader Joe's sells frozen basil, I have personally, never seen it)

2 T Worcestershire sauce

1 quart chicken stock/broth (or vegetable stock for vegans)

Olive oil

Salt & Pepper

In a large bowl, toss tomatoes, onions, and garlic with olive oil (she uses 5-6 Tablespoons, I did not use nearly that much. Just coat them all really well). Season with salt and pepper. Spread out onto a large rimmed baking sheet and roast for 20-30 minutes in a 400 degree oven.

Add the roasted veggies and remaining ingredients into a pot and bring to a boil. Simmer 15 minutes.

Using a hand blender, blend ingredients well, or do this can be done in a standard blender in a few batches (please let it cool down a bit before doing this, otherwise you'll have a mess on your hands!).

You can serve as is, or run it through food mill to get a smoother soup. Straining it would also work. I just served mind as is and it was wonderful. You can garnish it with some fresh cream and it would be fab! Enjoy!