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Roasted Tomato and Red Pepper Soup w/ Asiago Croutons

This is not the tomato soup you remember as kid – you know the one you ate with a grilled cheese sandwich? This is a flavorful rich soup that looks and feels like it has cream…. but in fact it does not!  The inspiration for this soup is Panera’s creamy tomato soup.
Ingredients
  • 8 large tomatoes quartered or 16 plum tomatoes halved
  • 1 can 32 oz peeled tomatoes
  • 4 red peppers roasted (or one large jar roasted red peppers drained of liquid) for today’s recipe I used the jarred
  • 5 tablespoons butter
  • 5 tablespoons flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 cup chopped Carrot
  • 1/2 cup chopped Onion
  • 1/2 cup chopped Celery
  • 4 cups vegetable broth
  • bay leaf
  • Salt and Pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • Basil
  • Asiago cheese
  • French or semolina bread cut in to pieces for croutons
Method:
tomatoes ready for roasting

tomatoes ready for roasting

  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees
  • Drizzle tomatoes with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper
  • Roast about 40 minutes until sift and skin is falling off
  • Once the tomatoes are cool enough to touch, put them into a blender and blend on high until smooth (I use a vitamix)
  • Set tomatoes aside
  • Blend peppers in blender and put aside
  • In another bowl put canned tomatoes and mix with the baking soda.  This will help reduce the acid
  • In a soup pot melt butter and add onions, carrots and celery until soft
  • Sprinkle flour over mixture , mix well and cook for 2 minutes
  • Slowly add vegetable broth and bay leaf
  • Cook until slightly thickened and remove bay leaf
  • Add tomatoes and roasted peppers
  • Simmer on medium heat for 10 minutes
  • Add red pepper flakes
  • Use immersion blender or use blender to blend in batches until creamy and smooth
  • Taste and adjust spices
  • Top with asiago croutons and fresh basil
Asiago Croutons
Asiago Croutons

Asiago Croutons

  • Line a baking sheet with foil, spray with cooking spray
  • Drizzle cut bread with olive oil, salt and pepper
  • Sprinkle with asiago cheese
  • Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown