Roasted Tomato Soup with Spicy Croutons

My random search for a cookbook this time round landed me with one that I am kind of embarrassed to to admit to owning. But, as Dom and Jacqueline (they've teamed up this month, more about that in a bit) say, 'no cheating', so okay, the book I picked is the 'Ultimate Cooking Course and Kitchen Encyclopedia' edited by Carole Clements. Fine, snigger away people, but I tell you, sometimes there is no substitute to a well written, no-nonsense cookbook filled with classic dishes and cooking tips. It was one of the first ever cookbooks I bought and I love it, even if I hide it in my cupboard when I have visitors :-)

The recipe I picked is another classic. Tomato soup. Now tomato soup, for me, is comfort in a bowl. Its such a classic flavour, and one that you can never go wrong with. We were lucky enough to have a fairly decent tomato harvest from the garden, and Kay ripened several in a bag with an apple, which, somehow or other encouraged even the green ones to ripen up. The sun-ripened ones from the garden rarely ever made it into a dish, as they were pretty much gobbled up straightaway, but these indoor ones were perfect for this soup. Somehow or the other, roasting always lends such an intense flavour to tomatoes, especially if they are not quite the best of the crop. Not that I mind, because nothing can beat the taste of a tomato from your own garden, no supermarket tomato even comes close to that stunning tangy flavour.

I played around with the herbs for this soup. I used fresh rosemary from my garden instead of the thyme, and I ignored the cream. In my humble opinion, roasted tomatoes need no cream to dilute their strong and flavourful taste. I also adapted the method a little bit, so am posting up the recipe. For me, this recipe embodies the essence of local, you can't get more local than walking out into your backyard and picking all those lovely fresh goodies that Mother Nature serves up.

I teamed up this soup with a sprinkling of spicy croutons. I never really have much luck with making croutons normally, as I tend to forget them in the oven, and then I have a mess of charred bread. This time round, however, I timed myself, and these came out pretty well. I added a sprinkling of chilli powder, cumin and pepper to spice them up a bit, and the results were pretty good, even if I do say so myself. The croutons jazzed up the lovely tangy flavours of the soup, and all in all I was pretty happy with the way this recipe turned out. You can, of course, ignore the croutons all together, but I always feel that thick, creamy soups are so good with that little bit of texture!

Dom from Belleau Kitchen and Jacqueline and Lisa who host No Croutons Required have teamed up for a joint event, Random Recipes does No Croutons Required. Its such an interesting event, I am so glad to be able to take part. I managed to miss last month's Random Recipe, thanks to a packed month and some inherent laziness, but I sure hope this entry makes up for it. As it turns out, this recipe is also suitable for Lynsey's Sweet Heat Challenge... not that I am lazy mind, but fate made it so [I blame fate for everything :-)] So all is well that ends well after all!

Recipe:
(Printable Recipe)

For the soup:

500g fresh tomatoes, halved or quartered, if large
A couple tbsp olive oil + 1 tsp more for the soup base
1 generous sprig of rosemary, leaves picked
Pepper to taste
1 medium onion, chopped
1 stick celery, chopped
1 carrot chopped (optional)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
500 ml vegetable stock
Salt to taste

For the croutons:

½ a loaf of French bread (a little stale is better), sliced
¼ tsp hot chilli powder
¼ tsp pepper
¼ tsp ground cumin
2 tsp olive oil

Method:

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Place the tomatoes in a single layer with the cut sides facing up, and sprinkle over some olive oil, and some pepper to taste. Sprinkle over the rosemary leaves. Roast for about 30 - 45 minutes, checking every so often, until the tomatoes are wrinkly and getting slightly charred. Leave to cool completely.

Meanwhile, fry the chopped onion, celery and carrot in the 1 tbsp olive oil in a heavy pot. Cook for about 7 - 8 minutes, until the onion has softened. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the vegetable stock, and boil until the carrots and celery have softened, about 5 to 10 minutes. Cool.

Add the roasted tomatoes to the above soup base, and blend to a smooth and creamy consistency. If you feel that the soup is too thick, thin it with a little hot stock. Taste, and adjust the seasoning to your taste. Gently reheat and serve with the croutons sprinkled over.

To make the croutons, again, preheat the oven to 400 F. Brush the slices of French bread with some olive oil, and place on a baking tray in single layer. Sprinkle over the chilli powder, pepper and cumin.

Toast in the oven for about 6 - 7 minutes, until crisp and beginning to turn golden. Chop coarsely and serve with the soup.