Tomato Soupie

Cooler nights call for an alternative soup recipe to the classic pumpkin or chicken and vegie soup.

Roasted Tomato-Garlic Soup (Serves 6)

• 1.5kg Cherry Tomatoes (depends how tomato-ey you like your soup)
• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 3 Tablespoons Minced Fresh Basil or Oregano or both!
• 6 Cloves Garlic, peeled
• 6 Cups Vegetable or Chicken Stock
• Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper, to taste
• Optional for extra flavour - ¾ Cup Cream

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Cut tomatoes in half.  In a large bowl, toss tomatoes with garlic cloves, olive oil and herbs. Place in the lined pan and roast for about 20 minutes, or until tender.

2. Remove from the oven and transfer tomatoes and garlic into a large pot. Add three cups of the stock and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. Puree the tomatoes using food processor or of that liking, stock and garlic together for about one minute or until almost smooth.

Add the remaining stock and cream into the pot and simmer for another 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish the soup with croutons.

Great Party Trick: Put together a little garnish buffet - have a selection of different ingredients to let your friends customise their soup.

• Bread (go nuts with bread choices)
• Parmesan Cheese or Parmesan Crisps (see taste)
• Chopped Chives
• Fresh Herbs
• Crème Fraiche
• Sea Salt
• Cracked Pepper

 We would love to hear some of your favourite soup dishes...

[tomato soup image from taste.com.au]