I don’t even want to tell you how much I make this soup. At least two times a week and that’s because it is SO easy, delicious, and healthy! When the weather is cold there is nothing like a hot pot of soup to warm you up. This roasted tomato soup is so rich with flavors, rustic, and feels creamy without any dairy involved. I always have to balance out the healthy with a little indulgence and can’t help but make a classic grilled cheese on the side. Dave and I eat this combo almost every Sunday night and then continue to eat the leftovers throughout the week. Seriously this soup is such a no brainer, I hope it becomes a favorite in your house too!

What you’ll need: {yields about 6-8 servings, depending on your bowl size!}

12 roma tomatoes
1 white onion
3-4 cups of unsalted vegetable stock
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon of roasted red pepper flakes
6-8 basil leaves roughly chopped
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon of bell’ aroma seasoning {similar to a general french seasoning}
salt and pepper to taste
2 sprigs of thyme {I don’t do this all of the time, but it adds an extra punch of warmth}

1 large pot {I use a 4.5 quart Le Creuset dutch oven!}
1 immersion blender {we have this one! or you can pour into an actual blender and return to pot}
1 baking sheet

Instructions:

This soup is sort of a hodge podge of flavors that you just have to play around with but here is what I like to do!

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Start by cutting the roma tomatoes in half, coating in one tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper, and place on a baking sheet skin side down
• Roast in the oven for 30 minutes or until they start to brown and soften
• Meanwhile, heat the additional tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in a stock pot on medium-high, cut up your onion and cook the chopped onion until it’s softened
• At this point I like to season the onion with a little salt and pepper, roasted red pepper flakes, and {sometimes} sprigs of thyme
• Once the tomatoes are out of the oven, immediately add them to the pot and mix together with the onion. Let the flavors mix for 1-2 minutes
• Add the vegetable stock – note: I usually buy organic unsalted vegetable stock in the box and use 3/4 to the whole thing depending on how much leftovers I want – just use the whole box
• Use your immersion blender to mix the ingredients {start low and move high}. You’ll still see some pieces of tomato which I like, it makes the soup feel rustic and lush
• Once the soup is combined, gently mix in the basil, the bell’ aroma seasoning, and the bay leaf
• Once the soup just starts to boil, put it on low and let the soup simmer for 20-30 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste, remove the bay leaf and you’re ready to serve! Enjoy, this is such a cozy one.

*For our grilled cheeses, I cook bacon until crispy and set aside. Butter both sides of a really good white bread and use one slice of american cheese and one slice of cheddar cheese with 2 pieces of bacon placed between the cheese. We use this griddle to get pretty marks! Cook until the cheese is gooey.