Recipe: Roasted tomato soup With Cheddar Hat

It is a bit cooler in the evenings now and so got the hankering for some soup! I stole the original recipe from one of my blogs, but of course I had to modify a bit! I called it a Cheddar Hat to make it a bit more appealing to the nine-year old in the family, but basically it is just a crouton with cheese. Hard to find plum tomatoes, but smaller grape tomatoes are always available and usually sweet even if not completely ripe. However, this substitution means there won’t be as much “juice” in the tomatoes. I also think you can use this as a base to add whatever other herbs or ingredients sound good. I want to try again and add a roasted beet or maybe even some carrot. No pictures from last time, maybe next time!


ingredients:

Soup

3 pounds plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 large or 4 small cloves garlic, unpeeled

1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves or 1/4 teaspoon dried

1/4 teaspoon (or more to taste) dried crushed red pepper

4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

Lid

4 1-inch slices from a loaf of rye bread, whole wheat sourdough or bread of your choice (or 16 1-inch slices from a baguette), toasted until hard and lightly buttered on one side

1 cup coarsely grated cheddar (or more to taste)

preparation:

Serves 4 (though closer to 6 if served in mugs)

Make soup: Preheat oven to 400°F. Wrap garlic cloves in a tight foil packet. Place tomatoes, cut side up, on large baking sheet. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper (I used 1 full teaspoon of Kosher salt). Drizzle tomatoes with olive oil. Add foil packet of garlic to tray. Roast until tomatoes are brown and tender (garlic will be very tender), about 1 hour. Cool slightly.

Unwrap garlic packet and peel cloves. Transfer cloves, tomatoes and any accumulated juices to a blender or food processor and pulse machine on and off until tomatoes are a chunky puree. Transfer tomatoes to medium pot and add thyme, crushed red pepper and stock and bring to a boil Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 25 minutes. Remove from heat and adjust seasonings to taste.

Create cheddar lid: Preheat oven to 350. Arrange four ovenproof soup bowls, crocks or large mugs on a large, foil-lined baking sheet. Float toast slice(s) in each bowl, buttered side up and divide grated cheese generously over top. (If you’re using a wide bowl, you might find that you want more cheese to create a thick, broiled lid.) Bake soups on tray for 15 to 20 minutes, until cheese on top is bubbling and brown at the edges. If you’d like it even more bronzed on top, preheat your broiler and finish soups for a minute or two under it. Serve immediately.

Do ahead: Soup can be prepared one day ahead, and kept covered in the fridge. Rewarm before serving, or before finishing with cheddar crouton.