Farm Stand Tomato Soup

I cannot get enough tomatoes during the summer time; especially, heirloom tomatoes. This is the perfect recipe for a quick and easy soup, served warm or chilled, and can be especially useful when you have too many tomatoes in the kitchen that need to be eaten, ASAP. All you need is a blender and a frying pan.

Serves 4-6 people.

Ingredients:

10-12 medium tomatoes (heirloom, roma, your preference)

1 shallot 

4 cloves of garlic

1 tbs red wine vinegar or sherry 

Optional ingredients:

cucumber

sweet onion

1/4 cup cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Core the tomatoes, place on a cookie sheet, and put in the oven for 30-45 minutes, or until the tomato skin becomes wrinkled.

3. While the tomatoes are in the oven, chop the garlic and onion. Sauté until golden brown.

4. Once the skin on the tomatoes is wrinkled, remove from the oven until cool enough to touch. As you are waiting for the tomatoes to cool, you can make an arugula pesto, which goes great as a garnish for the soup (See posted recipe).

5. Remove the skin from the tomatoes and combine all ingredients into a blender. If you have a cucumber handy, throw a chunk of it into the mix. If you prefer a creamier soup, add cream. The Vitamix is fantastic, if you have one, and makes the soup particularly light and frothy. 

Serve warm or chilled. A dollop of sour cream or drizzled balsamic glaze adds to the presentation. Refrigerate up to three days.

Farm Stand Tomato Soup with Arugula Pesto and Balsamic Glaze