Roasted Tomato Soup

 Oooh some days there are some beautiful tomatoes in the shops and when I saw these ones I just couldn't resist these big fat juicy ones.  Just look at them.  Who could resist?

Now I would recommend that you take the top core out of the tomatoes with a small sharp paring knife because when I made the soup from these tomatoes we found it very stringy.  But then again if you like the the extra fibre by all means leave them in.  Now some people prefer to remove the skin and seeds from the tomatoes but I found that they really added to the soup and when it was really well blended it made quite a meaty soup that warms and leaves you feeling full and satisfied.

Ingredients:

1kg Beef Tomatoes
2 Red Peppers
3 Large Onions
1 Head of Garlic
Olive Oil
1/4 litre Vegetable Stock
Few sprigs of Thyme, Oregano, Bay Leaf
1tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
Seasoning: Salt, Pepper, Sugar


Method:

• Preheat the oven to 190°C.
• Slice the tomatoes in half and place face up on a roasting tray.
• Crush open the bulb of garlic and separate out the cloves.  Leave the skin on the garlic and pop into the tray.
• Peel and quarter the onions and squeeze them in between the tomatoes along with chunks of the red pepper.
• Throw in the sprigs of thyme.
• Sprinkle with a tsp of sugar and season with salt and pepper.
• Drizzle olive oil over the vegetables in the tray.
• Roast in the oven for 1 hour. 
• When the tomatoes are soft and just about holding it together, remove them from the oven and pour them into a large pot.  Don't forget all the lovely juices at the bottom of the tray.  It is full of flavour.
• Squeeze all of the soft gooey insides out of the garlic cloves and add them to the pot.
• With your thumb nail and forefinger scrape off all the leaves from the sprigs of thyme and add to the soup mixture.
• Tie together the oregano and bay leaf to enable you to take them out of the pot again with ease. 
• Pour stock into the pot, pop on the lid and bring to a light simmer.
• When all of the veg are soft and falling apart easily, make sure that the onions have softened well, remove the bunch of herbs and blend with a stick blender until smooth.
• Season well and add 1tbs balsamic vinegar just to bring out the full fruity flavour of the tomatoes.
• Return to the heat for a few more minutes to bring it back up to temperature after using the blender on it.
• Serve straight away with crusty rolls slathered with a thick layer of butter. Enjoy!!