Roasted Tomato Soup

Roma tomatoes are best for this soup because they are firm-textured and have plenty of flavor. After they've finished roasting with fragrant rosemary and thyme, you may be tempted to eat them directly from the pan.

3 pounds Roma tomatoes
1 cup sliced yellow onion
1/2 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup minced fresh thyme
2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons minced garlic (4 medium cloves)
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
Dash of black pepper
2 tablespoons sour cream

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line two sided baking sheets with parchment paper.
Wash the tomatoes and cut lengthwise; place in a large bowl. Mix with the onion, olive oil, salt, thyme, and rosemary. Divide the mixture between the two baking sheets.

Bake until the tomato skins begin to shrivel and the onion starts to brown, about 15 minutes. Top with the minced garlic; bake 5 minutes.

Pass the tomato mixture through a food mill, or purée in a blender until completely smooth; strain. Transfer to a medium saucepan.

Add the chicken broth and warm over medium heat. Season with pepper to taste. Place in 4 bowls, swirling 1 1/2 teaspoons sour cream into each serving. Makes 4 (1 1/2-cup) servings.

Variations:
For a richer soup, replace one-half of the chicken broth with half-and-half.

Do Ahead:
The tomato mixture may be roasted and puréed up to 1 day beforehand. Leftovers will keep up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Freezes well (except for the variation with half-and-half).

Recipe copyright 1999 Danae Campbell and Jean Patterson.
All rights reserved. For reprint information, contact Jean Patterson.