Tomato and Bread Soup

by Kimberley S in Rouxbe Recipes

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Step 1: Roasting the Tomatoes

Roasting the Tomatoes

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degree Celsius).

Prick the cherry tomatoes with a fork and place into a bowl. Emince the garlic and sprinkle over top. Remove the leaves from the basil stems (reserve the stems) and add one-quarter of the leaves to the bowl. Drizzle the tomatoes with olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Toss to coat evenly.

Place onto a roasting tray and roast for approximately 20 to 30 minutes to concentrate/caramelize.

  • 1 lb cherry tomatoes
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 large bunch fresh basil
  • extra-virgin olive oil
  • sea salt (to taste)
  • freshly ground black pepper (to taste)

Step 2: Preparing the Soup

Preparing the Soup

Finely dice the reserved basil stems and emince the garlic.

Place the olive oil, basil stems and garlic in a heavy-bottomed pot. Turn the heat to medium and gently fry the garlic until fragrant but not brown. Once fragrant, add the canned tomatoes and break them up slightly with a wooden spoon. Add the water and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook for about 10 to 15 minutes.

In the meantime, break up the bread into bite-size pieces. Once the soup has simmered for about 15 minutes, add the bread to the soup. Tear the remaining basil leaves into the soup and stir (reserve a few for garnish, if desired). Reduce the heat to low and let sit for about 10 minutes to thicken.

Once the tomatoes are roasted, add them to the soup, scraping any nice caramelized bits into the pot. Stir to combine. Season to taste.

The soup should have a thick, porridge-like texture to it. If it is too thick, adjust the consistency with a bit of water.

Remove the soup from the heat and add the olive oil. Serve the soup in warmed bowls. Garnish with the extra basil, if desired.

  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 - 400 g cans quality cherry or plum tomatoes
  • 3 to 4 cups stale rustic bread
  • sea salt (to taste)
  • freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
  • 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 400 ml water
  • 7 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Notes

The bread in this recipe is the starchy component and is used to thicken the soup.

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Rebecca B

What a show stopper of a soup!

I made this soup yesterday and served it for dinner with a chicken Caesar salad and a nice riesling. I made modifications to the recipe to better suit my ingredients on hand, and to adjust the recipe to my palate.

1.) I roasted 2 heads of garlic and one diced yellow bell pepper with the cherry tomatoes.
2.) I added the basil leaves to the roasted vegetables just 5 minutes before removing the tomatoes from the oven to make them crisp without burning. I used globe basil -- perhaps other varieties of basil are less prone to scorching?
3.) I could not find San Marzano tomatoes on my store shelf. I used Muir Glen organic fire roasted tomatoes (which, unfortunately, contain citric acid -- but are about the best that I can find locally. Otherwise, I would need to special order my canned tomatoes.) I added a small amount of fresh squeezed orange juice to “make up” for this deficiency.
4.) I used dark chicken stock for the base of this soup, which added a nice richness to the flavor profile.
5.) For some reason, the tomatoes took about 45 minutes roasting time, rather than the 30 minutes the recipe suggested to caramelize in my oven at 350 degrees F.

Overall, I am very pleased with this soup recipe because it is an end of harvest “problem solver”. I will most definitely make multiple batches of this soup at the end of the season using my own grill roasted Roma tomatoes, and freeze for use in winter.

Suggestions: I would double the amount of roasted basil leaves the next time I make this soup. (The roasting calms the flavor of the basil, but looks so beautiful in the finished soup.) Personally, I did not like the texture of basil stems (even finely chopped and sautéed) in my soup. I will omit the basil stems the next time I make this. I will also use both red and orange cherry tomatoes to brighten the color of the soup. Next time I will try a little bit of smoked gouda as a topping for this soup.

Thank you Kimberly, for such a great soup idea.

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