Roasted Tomato Soup

I've been doing some research on trying to eat local homegrown food and I am really lucky to live so close to farm areas! When I go to the grocery store, I've been noticing that most of our fruit is exported from South America. Unfortunately, it's actually less expensive to buy than fruit grown locally. Less than a couple miles from my home is Creme de la Crop, which is a Community Supported Agriculture Farm. It has been certified organic, which means that they do not use chemical pesticides.

I am headed to visit their farm this afternoon, but this morning, I needed to make lunch. Luckily, my supermarket had locally grown organic tomatoes and I bought a bunch!

I completely made this recipe off the top of my head. I've done that before, but it has NEVER come out this good. I think when the ingredients are top-notch, it's hard to mess up =)

Roasted Tomato Soup

6 large on-the-vine tomatoes (Roma or Plum are okay, just make sure you double the qty)

1 red bell pepper

5 cloves of garlic

2 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

olive oil spray

1 large onion chopped

2 small stalks of celery chopped (optional)

1 tsp dried basil

2 cups vegetable broth

Turn the broiler on your stove to "High". Slice the tomatoes and red bell pepper. Add all of the garlic, sprinkle with the salt and black pepper. Arrange on a large flat pan and put into oven/broiler. They will be there for about 5 - 10 minutes, depending on your oven. They need to be turned over once.

While that is in the oven, put your chopped onion and chopped celery (optional) into a large stockpot and spray lightly with olive oil. When they are cooked, add the 2 cups of vegetable stock. If you like the soup a bit thicker, add 1/4 cup of bread crumbs. If you like it more watery, add half a cup of water. I personally like mine more watery, so I added the water at this point.

When the tomatoes are ready, add them to the stockpot and use an immersion blender to puree the mixture. You can transfer the soup to a blender if you don't have an immersion blender, it's just a little messier (but totally worth it, trust me!)

Bring the pureed mixture back to a boil and then simmer for one minute. Let it cool... enjoy.

P. S. Pictures coming soon!