Top Chef Stephanie: Tomato Soup

As the fall is getting into full swing, I've started experimenting with new recipes, especially soups. I LOVE soup, I always have. But... I haven't always liked tomato soup. I actually don't like tomatoes in general. I never put them on my hamburgers and don't get me started on the nastiness that is ketchup. But, I tried a new tomato soup recipe and it is D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S!!!!! I've eaten it every day for lunch for two weeks. My sister in law Mandy posts the best recipes on her blog, so I thought I would share this awesome tomato soup recipe on my blog! It's super easy too!

You will need:
3 pounds of tomatoes (it calls for plum but I just get whatever is on sale at the store)
4 shallots
2 Tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper
Pinch of Sugar
3 Tablespoons butter (I use light butter)
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
4 Cups chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (you can do less if you want it less spicy)
1 Cup Cream

The Steps:
1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a baking rack on top.

2. Slice all tomatoes in half and place them flesh up on the rack. (I also make sure that I cut off all the stem areas and any bad spots they may have.) Coat (be generous!) the tomatoes with the olive oil, salt and pepper generously and sprinkle with just a touch of sugar.

3. Bake the tomatoes in the oven for 1 hour. They should turn brown, get really soft and appear to be falling apart - that's normal. After one hour, pull them out and let them cool a bit.

4. In the meantime, cut up the shallots. The first time I focused on really cutting them tiny - the second time I was in a rush and didn't. It made no difference send you blend them in the end anyways.

5. In a large pot, saute the shallots for 2-3 minutes until they start to smell good and look a little brown. Add the tomato paste and cook another minute or two (it looks thick and weird- this is normal)

6. Add the chicken broth and cayenne pepper. The soup definitely has a kick to it, so if you want it to be more mellow, maybe reduce how much cayenne you put in.

7. Add the cream and bring to a boil. Let simmer on low about 10 minutes.

8. Remove from heat and add all of the tomatoes to the soup bowl.

9. Blend the soup either using an immersion blender or by blending in batches in the real blender. The first time I used a real blender and it worked fine. I bought an immersion blender at Bed, Bath and Beyond for $20 with birthday money and used it the second time - that was AMAZING! Both ways obtain the same consistency, but the immersion blender was quicker and easier. I highly recommend it.

10. Enjoy your soup! I use some fresh ground pepper and just a touch of cheese on top. Yum!

Another reason I love this soup is it makes enough for lunch for an entire week and it stores well in the fridge and reheats great in the microwave.

My blog comments have gone silent lately... I'm afraid I lost all my readers in the hiatus. Let me know this week

1) if you still read
2) if you like recipe sharing
3) if you like the tomato soup.

Check back in a few days.... I learned how to carve an apple into the shape of a bird : )