Roasted Tomato Soup

Roasted Tomato Soup

Tomatoes from the garden mark the end of summer and beginning of fall in my world.  With the threat of frost in Duluth, Tom and I picked most of the tomatoes from the vines earlier this week and reveled in the beauty of the many shades of gold and red and orange adorning the heirloom tomatoes.  I put the many still green tomatoes on a tray in the sunshine and will watch them slowly ripen.  I decided the easiest and tastiest way to use the ripe ones  was to slow roast them in the oven.  The smell as they roasted was earthy and inviting.  To make the soup, all I had to do was puree them and enjoy their naturally delectable flavor without the addition of anything beyond the fresh herbs used during the roasting process. 

Ingredients:

Heirloom tomato

About 6 large ripe tomatoes or several small roma tomatoes
A drizzle of coconut oil or olive oil
Fresh basil, thyme, oregano, and/or rosemary.  As much as you want.
Sea salt

Preparation:
Slice the tomatoes and place them in a baking pan.  Drizzle the oil on them and add the fresh herbs and sea salt.  Roast in a 300 degree oven for about one hour.  The longer and slower you roast them, the sweeter and more caramelized they become.  Don't rush the process.  Let them cool and then puree.  They are so incredibly tasty as a soup.  I ate mine with a grilled cheese sandwich using thin slices of whole grain sourdough bread and low-fat mozzarella. Comfort food with Pzazz!

Bowl of Roma Tomatoes 

Variety of heirloom tomatoes

Roma Tomatoes with sprigs of oregano 

Roma Tomatoes after roasting

Roasting tomatoes with fresh herbs

Note:  I did not do a nutritional analysis as I know that one medium tomato contains 5 grams of carbohydrates and one medium plum tomato contains about 3 grams of carbohydrates.  And each bowl of soup used about 2 medium tomatoes or about 4 plum tomatoes.