You Say Tomato, I Say …

…soup.

The weather begged for something warm so Keith and I made tomato soup for dinner. We started making soup a few months ago, and used a bunch of different recipes. In time, all those recipes melded into one. This is a creamy spicy roasted tomato-and-carrot soup, one that could be a 30-minute meal if not for the fact that I’m really slow at cutting vegetables.

Garlic bread makes a great spoon for the soup.

Ingredients:

– 14-ounce can of whole peeled tomatoes, drained (reserve the sauce from the can)

– 2 large cloves garlic, minced

– 1 medium-sized onion, diced

– 3 small carrots, chopped

– 1 jalapeño, chopped

– 1 cup chicken (or vegetable) broth

– 1 cup red wine

– 1 cup whole milk or heavy cream

– salt, pepper, Italian seasoning to taste

1) Preheat the oven to 475˚F. Place the whole peeled tomatoes on a baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil, half of the minced garlic, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Roast for 15 minutes, or until the tomatoes begin to blacken.

2) Coat the bottom of a large pot with olive oil. When the oil is hot, drop in the diced onions. When the onions are almost clear, add the rest of the garlic. Let the onions and garlic heat through.

3) Add the chopped carrots and jalapeño to the onions. Keep on heat until carrots soften.

4) Blend the roasted tomatoes and the vegetables until smooth, adding olive oil as needed.

5) Put the blended mixture back into the pot. Add the broth, wine, milk or heavy cream and the reserved sauce from the canned tomatoes. Heat through, for about 10 minutes.

6) Serve and enjoy.