Description
Fall is officially in the air, and I can’t wait for the leaves to start changing color. With the weather slowly getting cooler, my recipes start navigating to homier, belly-warming meals. A bowl of soup is always so satisfying on a cold, fall evening. The go to for us is usually homemade tomato soup. Fry up some grilled cheese sandwiches and, yum, you remember the warmth of your childhood.
Making tomato soup is super easy with very little prep and very little hands on time. It is the perfect Monday Meatless dinner. Back to work or school after the weekend, having a quick and easy dinner is always preferred.
This time, I decided to shake things up a bit and stray from my traditional tomato soup recipe. Normally, I throw tomatoes, garlic, and shallots into a Dutch oven and roast them for half an hour. But this time, I decided to throw in a red pepper also.
After the vegetables roast, I purée them with a blender, but a food processor works the same. Now, I don’t like all the “grit” that is in the purée… seeds, vegetable skins, etc. I prefer my soup to be smooth, so using a fine mesh colander, I strain the soup through it to remove all of that stuff. It takes some smushing and scrapping of the colander to get all of the soup through and fully squeezed out of the leftover solids.
What’s left is nice and smooth, and once you add the milk and cream, it’s, well, creamy! I like to add cayenne to give it just a bit of a bite, but not so much that it’s too hot for kids.
In order to boost the flavor a bit further, I made a chili infused oil, using ghee, cumin seeds, ginger, cayenne, and dried red chilis. Then, I just drizzled across the top of each bowl of soup. Wow, did this make a difference! It added such a wonderful flavor profile. Now, adding this to the soup does make it a bit spicier. If you’re making this for the whole family, maybe leave this off of your kids’ bowls, unless they like spicy food!
We paired this with a salad and crusty bread, and it was so filling and satisfying!
Enjoy!
Ingredients
Soup
10 vine-ripened tomatoes, halved
1 large red peppers, seeds removed, cut into four pieces
3 medium shallots, halved
8 garlic cloves
1 TB fresh sage
1 TB oregano
1 TB thyme
½ cup whole milk
½ cup heavy cream
¼ cup pesto
salt and pepper
Chili Infused Oil
2 TB ghee, or coconut oil
1 inch ginger, skin removed and julienned
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2 dried red Thai chilis
1/4 tsp cayenne
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 450°
Put the tomatoes, red pepper, shallots, garlic, sage, oregano, and thyme in a Dutch oven. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 30 minutes.
When done, scoop everything into a blender or food processor; process until smooth. Wipe out the bottom of the Dutch oven. Place a fine mesh colander over the Dutch oven. Slowly pour the blended soup unto the colander. Using the back of a spoon, smush and scrape the mixture through the colander. Keep adding soup from the blender until empty. Continue to smush and scrap the colander until you’ve squeezed out all of the soup, leaving behind the seeds and grit. Scrape the bottom of the colander and then discard.
Place the Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the whole milk, heavy cream, pesto, and cayenne. Stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to low and simmer while you make the chili infused oil.
In a small saucepan, melt the ghee over medium heat. Add the ginger, cumin seeds, dried red chilis, and cayenne. Cook 3 to 5 minutes, or until very fragrant.
Divide the soup among four bowls. Using a tablespoon, drizzle the chili-infused oil over the top of the soup.
This is great paired with a salad and crusty bread.
Enjoy!
Keywords: Meatless Mondays, Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup, Roasted Red Pepper Soup, Tomato Soup