#roasted tomatoes

by ELLE Gourmet

Tomato soup has a way of knocking you back to your childhood kitchen table in the most delightful way. Here, tomatoes, onions and jalapeños are deeply broiled to develop a subtle, refined flavour before simmering and blending into something familiar. The result is rich, without feeling heavy and nostalgic, without feeling dated. Topped with a giant stack of cheesy crostini, it becomes pure comfort in a bowl. Take your soup game even higher with our homemade vegetable stock. 

Recipe Tips

Not all broil settings are created equal, so keep an eye on vegetables & crostini.

On vegetables, you’re looking for a deep char with some blackened edges & for the crostini, a deep golden crust with bubbly cheese. Adjust timing as needed.

Broiling the vegetables – tomatoes, jalapeño peppers and onions before simmering and blending may add one extra step but it has massive benefits for depth of flavour.

Soup

12 hothouse tomatoes halved

1 red onion roughly chopped

3 jalapeño peppers halved and seeded

4 cloves garlic smashed

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

2 cups tomato purée

6 cups vegetable stock, chicken stock or water (Use vegetable stock to make it vegetarian)

Crostini

1 baguette cut into ¼-inch (5 mm) slices

1 clove garlic peeled

½ cup mozzarella cheese shredded

¼ cup sharp cheddar cheese shredded

Directions

Preheat oven to broil on low.

On a baking sheet, toss together tomatoes, red onion, jalapeños, garlic, olive oil and salt & pepper to taste. Broil, stirring every 10 minutes, until all vegetables are charred (not burnt), about 30 minutes. Remove vegetables, increase broiler to high.

Transfer charred vegetables to a large Dutch oven. Add tomato purée & vegetable stock. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce to simmer and cook for 30 minutes.

For crostini, arrange baguette slices on baking sheet, broil, turning once until lightly toasted, about 2 minutes. Rub each slice with garlic clove. Top each with some of mozzarella & cheeses. Broil until cheese is bubbly and golden, 1 to 2 minutes.

Purée soup mixture & serve with as many crostini as you can stack.