Roasted Summer Tomato Soup, OR Papa al Pomodoro, Southern Style
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Recipe type: Soup
Serves: 6
What You Need
  • 4-5 Lbs of homegrown tomatoes, heirloom, beefsteak, whatever. (so, 4-5 large heavy tomatoes, or 8 medium ones)
  • 4 cloves of garlic, minced
  • ½ Tablespoon of Kosher salt and black pepper
  • 3 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 1½ Tablespoons fennel seed
  • 8-10 leaves fresh basil, torn
  • 1½ cups of day-old french bread (new orleans style baguettes are PERFECT) Crusts removed, and torn or cut into small cubes
  • 5 Cups water
  • ½ block of fresh Parmesan cheese (for serving. this can be omitted)
What to Do
  1. FOR THE SOUP:
  2. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.
  3. Core and quarter your tomatoes.
  4. Mince the garlic.
  5. Toss the tomato, garlic, fennel seed, salt, pepper and olive oil in a large baking pan or two smaller ones and place in the oven. Roast for 30-35 minutes, turning the tomatoes once in the middle. Remove when the tomatoes are very soft and edges and skin have turned brown and crispy.
  6. After the tomatoes have cooled, remove the skins (they'll come off very easily, and you don't want them because they'll look like strings in your soup).
  7. Add the roasted tomato mixture into a 4 or 5 quart pot. Add in the torn basil, the bread, and the water and cook until the mixture has thickened and reduced a bit, about 10-15 minutes.
  8. Serve garnished with Parmesan crips and torn basil.
  9. FOR THE PARMESAN CRISPS: (These are SO easy but look and taste fancy!)
  10. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
  11. Using a microplaner or other small size grater, grate the Parmesan cheese into 12 Quarter-sized piles onto parchment paper placed on a baking sheet.
  12. Skooch (this is southern for push together) each pile of cheese, making sure they are at least a 6 inches apart.
  13. Place in the oven and bake for 3-5 minutes (watch these closely) or until they are golden brown and have spread out into a crisp cookie shape.
  14. Serve on the soup.
Recipe by Mess of Greens at https://www.messofgreensblog.com/?p=1195