Small Batch Roasted Tomato Soup
Thick roasted tomato soup made from one 8x8 pan of fresh garden tomatoes with no broth, no roux, and no thickener. The oven does the work, and a splash of half and half turns it into soup.
Servings: 2
Calories: 435kcal
Equipment
- 8x8 glass baking dish
- Half gallon wide mouth jar
- Immersion blender
- Quart size zip top bag
- Cutting board and sharp knife
Ingredients
- 1000 grams mixed ripe tomatoes enough to fill an 8x8 pan (about 2 to 2.5 pounds)
- 150 grams sweet onion 1 medium onion, cut into wedges
- 16 grams garlic 4 cloves, peeled and left whole
- 40 grams extra virgin olive oil 3 tablespoons
- 6 grams fresh basil leaves left whole (1/4 cup)
- 8 grams fresh parsley chopped (2 tablespoons)
- 1 gram dried oregano 1 teaspoon
- 16 grams balsamic vinegar 1 tablespoon
- 13 grams granulated sugar 1 tablespoon
- 6 grams fine sea salt 1 teaspoon
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 60 grams half and half 1/4 cup
- 30 grams heavy whipping cream for topping 2 tablespoons
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Cut the larger tomatoes into thick wedges and halve the cherry tomatoes, leaving the smallest ones whole. Do not peel or seed anything, since the skins soften completely and the seeds disappear under the blender.
- Fill the 8x8 dish with the tomatoes, packing them in snugly and slightly mounded, because everything collapses as it roasts.
- Tuck the onion wedges and whole garlic cloves in among the tomatoes, then scatter the basil leaves and chopped parsley over the top.
- Drizzle the olive oil evenly over everything and sprinkle with the dried oregano. Dried herbs go in before roasting because they hold up to high heat and bloom in the oil.
- Roast for 35 minutes, until the tomatoes have collapsed, the skins have split and pulled back, and the onion edges have darkened. Those browned edges are where the savory depth comes from, so let them happen.
- Scrape the entire contents of the pan into a half gallon jar, juices and all. That liquid has already reduced in the oven, which is what makes this soup thick without any thickener.
- Blend with an immersion blender for 30 seconds to a minute, until smooth and velvety. Blend less if you want a rustic soup with visible texture.
- Stir in the balsamic vinegar, sugar, salt and black pepper. Taste and adjust, since tomato acidity swings widely depending on variety and ripeness.
- Stir in the half and half off the heat. Start with the full quarter cup, then taste and add more if you want a milder, rounder soup.
- Pour the heavy whipping cream into a zip top bag, twist the bag so the cream gathers into a small ball in one corner, and shake it back and forth for about a minute until it thickens into a light whip.
- Snip a small corner off the bag and drizzle the whipped cream over the soup in a spiral. Drag a toothpick through it from the center outward to feather the pattern, or leave the spiral as it is.
- Serve warm with thick sliced sourdough for dipping.
Notes
Storage:
Refrigerate in a sealed jar for four to five days. The soup thickens as it chills, so thin it with a splash of milk or broth when you reheat.
Reheating:
Warm it low and slow on the stove, stirring now and then. Dairy splits under high heat, so keep it well below a boil.
Freezing:
Freeze the soup base before adding the cream, then stir fresh cream in when you reheat. Dairy can turn grainy through a freeze and thaw, while the base freezes beautifully for up to three months. Leave an inch of headspace at the top of the jar and use a straight sided jar so the glass is not fighting a shoulder.
Please Do Not Can This:
This recipe has not been tested for water bath canning and should not be canned. Safe tomato canning requires added acid in tested amounts to bring the pH into a safe range, and the onion, oil and dairy here all change that equation. Refrigerator or freezer only.
The Whipped Cream Topping:
No mixer needed. Heavy cream in a zip top bag, twisted so it collects in one corner, shaken for about a minute or two, gives you a light whip that holds a drizzle on the surface instead of sinking into the soup. Snip the corner and it becomes a piping bag.
Substitutions:
To thin the soup, add chicken or beef bone broth a splash at a time. Bone broth can also replace the cream entirely for a lighter soup that still has real depth.
For a lighter version, use half and half cut with whole milk, half of each. You lose a little richness and none of the body.
Heavy cream works in place of half and half. Start with 2 tablespoons and build up, since heavy cream mutes the tomato flavor faster.
For a dairy free soup, use bone broth or a splash of full fat coconut milk, or leave the dairy out entirely. The soup is already thick without it.
White balsamic vinegar keeps the soup a vivid orange red instead of deepening the color toward brown.
Variations:
Add crushed red pepper flake before roasting so the heat blooms in the oil, or stir it in at the end for a sharper bite.
Double the oregano for a more classic Italian flavor.
Leave out the cream entirely and you have roasted tomato sauce for pizza and pasta.
Troubleshooting:
If the soup is thin, either the tomatoes were very juicy varieties or they needed longer in the oven. Simmer the blended base uncovered for ten to fifteen minutes before adding the cream, and give the pan an extra ten minutes next time.
If the color looks orange rather than deep red, that is normal. Yellow and orange varieties lighten the batch and the immersion blender whips air into the soup. It settles and deepens as it sits.
Make Ahead:
The pan can be assembled up to a day in advance. Cover and refrigerate, then roast straight from the fridge and add about five minutes.
Off Season Method:
From roughly October through June, use a 28 ounce can of whole San Marzano tomatoes instead of fresh. Drain off some of the packing liquid, roast with the onion, garlic and herbs for about 20 minutes to brown the edges, then blend and finish the same way.
