Between the chilly, wet (almost) Autumn weather we’re having at the moment and an utterly annoying wisdom tooth (why do they even exist?!) I had a hankering for soup. Simple, flavourful, comforting tomato soup.
Serves 4
Ingredients
12 large, ripe tomatoes
1 head garlic
1 large (700g) jar passata
500ml vegetable stock
6 parmesan rinds if you have them, or 1/3 cup grated parmesan
salt and pepper
olive oil
Directions
Preheat oven to 210°C.
Halve the tomatoes and put them cut side up in a roasting pan. Drizzle generously with olive oil, about 2-3 tablespoons, and sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roast them in the oven for an hour, then let cool enough to pull off skins. Transfer to soup pot.
Trim the top off the garlic head with a serrated knife so the tops of all the cloves are exposed, place on a double layer of foil and drizzle exposed tops of cloves with olive oil, a teaspoon or two. Wrap the foil tightly in a pouch and put it in the oven for an hour. Let cool before gently squeezing roasted cloves out of papery skins. Transfer to soup pot.
Add passata and stock to pot and bring to a low simmer. Cook for an hour, stirring occasionally.
Using an immersion blender or a normal one, purée the soup until smooth. Return to heat and add parmesan rinds/grated parmesan. Season to taste. Cook over very low heat for another 30 minutes then remove what’s left of the rinds, if you used them.
I like to serve this soup with a simple sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper, but it’s also great with some finely chopped fresh basil, toasted croutons or a swirl of mascarpone.
pizzarossa 
Mmm this sounds so light and delicious. Fresh ingredients make this soup memorable I’m sure.
It is really light, but filling. 🙂
This looks really good, but I have heard of passata before. What is it? Thanks!
Passata is like crushed tomatoes but really smooth and quite thick (but not as thick as tomato purée) – you could just used canned, crushed tomatoes, but they might be a bit more liquid-y.
Ah, that’s kind of what I was thinking. We have tomato paste in Canada, which is probably what you call purée, and I’ll look for a can in-between paste and crushed. Ta! We’re still having warm days here in eastern Canada, but I’ll be craving soup very soon, I’m sure.
What a beautiful bowl of soup. We are cooling down here too in Austin (just slightly) and I’ve been craving some more seasonal fare. This looks like it would be perfect. Easy and flavorful. Thank you for sharing!
It is super easy but so good. The best thing about the change in the weather is the food! 🙂
I am such an addict for tomato soup! I actually have some packed for lunch! I never thought of adding the parm rinds though. I have 4 frozen in my freezer just for recipes like this. Thanks 🙂
I have been saving mine up all summer and am so glad that soup season is upon us! 🙂