It’s November, and for the past month, every time I’ve picked tomatoes from the garden, I’ve thought, surely, these are the last of the season!
But the tomatoes kept coming. Until now, that is. After a couple of frosty nights in the past week, I think we’ve finally reached the end.
Which means it’s soup weather!
I gathered the last of my garden tomatoes to make a delicious pot of roasted tomato soup. There’s something wonderful about roasting tomatoes, onions, and garlic together. Roasting concentrates their flavors and brings out their natural sweetness. Add some fresh basil, a little broth, and a splash of good balsamic vinegar, and you have a simple, flavorful soup.
The best part? No peeling or seeding tomatoes required. Just roast the vegetables, add some broth and basil, and blend everything together.
One lesson learned: an immersion blender in a shallow pot made for some unanticipated tomato spray. (I’m glad I wore my apron!) Next time, I’ll use a deeper pot or transfer everything to a standing blender.
A little Parmesan experiment
I recently came across a recipe for a salad featuring apples and crispy baked cheddar cheese. It’s one I plan to try, but in the meantime, I wondered whether I could make something similar with Parmesan to accompany my soup.
My first attempt wasn’t particularly successful.
I grated the Parmesan with my microplane, arranged little piles on a baking sheet, and popped them in the oven. Within two minutes, I had puddles of bubbling cheese that quickly turned brown. Not quite what I’d envisioned!
Next, I pulled out my box grater and tried two larger sizes of shreds. Both worked much better. The larger shreds produced more substantial crisps, while the medium shreds created delicate, lacy edges that I especially liked.
The other lesson? Watch these closely. They cook quickly, and they’ll continue to darken slightly after you take them out of the oven. I pulled mine after four minutes.
Roasted tomato soup
Serves 4–6
3 lb fresh tomatoes, halved or quartered
1 medium onion, quartered
5–6 cloves garlic, peeled
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1–2 c vegetable or chicken stock
½ c fresh basil, loosely packed
1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
1–2 tsp good-quality balsamic vinegar, to taste
¼ c heavy cream (optional)
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
Arrange the tomatoes, onion, and garlic on a large baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 35–45 minutes, until the vegetables are soft and beginning to caramelize, with browned edges.
Transfer the roasted vegetables and their juices to a deep pot or blender. Add 1 c stock and the fresh basil. Blend until smooth, working in batches if using a standing blender.
Transfer to a pot, if needed, and simmer gently for 5–10 minutes. Add additional stock until the soup reaches your desired consistency.
Taste and adjust the salt and pepper. Add a splash of balsamic vinegar for extra depth, and stir in the cream if you’d like a richer, silkier soup.
Serve warm, ideally with a few Parmesan crisps.
Parmesan crisps
Makes 8–12 crisps, depending on size
½–¾ c freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Using the medium or large holes of a box grater, grate the Parmesan. Avoid using a microplane, which produces shreds that are too fine for the texture we’re after.
Place small mounds of cheese (about 1 Tbsp each) on the parchment, spacing them a couple inches apart. Gently flatten each mound into a circle and sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper.
Bake for approximately 4 minutes, watching carefully (start checking at 2–3 minutes). Remove when the cheese has melted and the edges are just beginning to turn golden. Baking time will vary depending on the thickness of your crisps and your oven.
Let cool completely on the baking sheet. The crisps will firm up as they cool.
Serve alongside the soup or use as a crunchy garnish. They can also be made ahead and stored in an airtight container for a few days.
