Roasted Tomato Soup

I have an abundance of tomatoes. No, not from the garden, the 12 I managed to grow this summer are all gone. I had such high hopes, too. Black Krim, Thessaloniki, Supersonic, Carolina Gold, Lemon Boy. All hearty tomatoes? They haven't met me. It was not a good tomato season here in NY. At least for me! So I turned to Trader Joe's and got the baby Roma's, yellow tomatoes and the cherry heirlooms. and I turned to Tyler Florence! His Roasted Tomato Soup is the perfect thing to bring out the taste of really good summer tomatoes. Even from the grocery store. and you can freeze it for those cold winter days, perfect with grilled cheese! Thanks, Maggie, who found it first, way back when and totally raved about it!


Roasted Tomato Soup
Source: Tyler Florence, Food Network

I made some changes to the recipe, more tomatoes, a little more stock. You can add cream at the end, but I found it doesn't need it at all!
Printable Recipe

3 pounds fresh tomatoes (mix of any kind you like, heirlooms are great, cherry, baby Roma, yellow, whatever!)
6 cloves garlic, peeled
1 or 2 onions, sliced
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 quarts chicken stock
2 bay leaves
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Wash, core and cut the tomatoes into halves. Spread the tomatoes, garlic cloves and onions onto a baking tray. If using vine cherry tomatoes for garnish, add them as well, leaving them whole and on the vine. Drizzle with 1/2 cup of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 45 - 60 minutes, or until caramelized.

Remove roasted tomatoes, garlic and onion (and the juices) from the oven and transfer to a large stock pot (set aside some roasted cherry tomatoes for later if you want). Add the chicken stock, bay leaves, and butter. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 25 minutes or until liquid has reduced by a third.

Wash and dry basil leaves, and add to the pot. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth. Pour the soup through a strainer to get rid of the tomato skins if you prefer a smoother, creamier soup. Return soup to low heat, add cream if you're using it. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Garnish with roasted cherry tomatoes, croutons, basil chiffonade, whatever you like.

I have another week of vacation and after mostly take-out all summer, I'm on a cooking frenzy this week! Tonight in the never-ending quest of widening my family's horizon's I made fish taco's. and to further irritate them, I made it somewhat healthy and grilled instead of fried. Three out of four LOVED the fish tacos. Miss Picky, well, she had the backup plan. Grilled skirt steak. She did have TWO bowls of the soup.

No picture, too busy getting everything on the table. I used Sole because that's what I had gotten this morning to broil, before I had the brilliant idea for taco's. and I used a foil pan on the grill. We'll be having this again. Very soon!

Grilled-Fish Tacos
Source: Gourmet - September 2007, epicurious.com
original recipe by Melissa Roberts and Maggie Ruggiero
adapted dishesdone
Printable Recipe

1 medium red onion
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup simple syrup (see recipe below)
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/4 pound (1-inch-thick) skinless mahi mahi fillet or tuna steak, cut into 12 pieces (I used sole)
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2/3 cup sour cream
12 (6-inch) corn or flour tortillas
2 firm-ripe avocados
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon jalapeno powder
4 cups shredded green cabbage (you can use cole slaw mix bag)

Very thinly slice onion crosswise into rings with a mandoline slicer. Put into a container and add 1/2 cup rice vinegar and 1/4 cup of simple syrup. Cover and shake the container to combine, and refrigerate for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, stir 1/4 cup lime juice together with cilantro, oil, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add fish and toss to coat, then marinate at room temperature 15 minutes.

Whisk together mayonnaise, sour cream, 1/2 teaspoon salt, cumin, jalapeno powder and 1/4 cup lime juice to make sauce.

Preheat a gas grill with burners on high, covered, 10 minutes, then reduce heat to medium-high.

Thread each piece of fish onto a skewer (discard marinade). Wrap exposed part of each skewer in heavy-duty foil to protect it from charring. or just put it in a foil pan on the grill. If grilling directly, oil the grill rack and grill fish, turning once until cooked through for mahi mahi and just pink for tuna. Sole I grilled until it was opaque and flaky.

Wrap tortillas in foil and warm on grill for a minute or two.

Slice the avocado's into 1/2-inch slices. Drain onions.

Serve fish with tortillas, sour cream sauce, onions, and avocado's and any other toppings you like.

Simple Syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup water

In a small saucepan, bring sugar and water to a boil; simmer until the sugar is dissolved, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool completely. The syrup can be refrigerated in a glass jar for up to 1 month. Also good for sweetening drinks!

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