There’s nothing like a warm bowl of soup to satisfy the winter time blues. This particular soup is hearty, delicious and easy. You roast the potato, tomato and garlic and essentially, let the oven do all the work for the cooking part. Then, the Masha does the work for the blending part. Done. Yum.
What you will need for this recipe is:
3-4 Pounds of fresh tomatoes (Heirlooms or Roma’s are best)
1-2 Baking Potatoes
5 Cloves of garlic in their husks
1/2 Cup extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons sea salt (or to taste)
1 1/2 Tablespoons of Italian Seasoning
Fresh Basil Leaves – about 10 (or dried basil)
First, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Then place the whole tomatoes on a cookie sheet. Drizzle the tomatoes with half of the olive oil and salt. Set it aside while you prepare the garlic.
For the garlic, you will need a piece of foil. Place the cloves in the foil and make a cup out of it. Pour olive oil, just to cover the garlic cloves and bunch the foil together, closing it to look like this:
Next, in a separate, dish (I used a loaf pan) place the potato in and stab it with a fork two or three times so steam can escape.
Now, place all the items in the oven. The tomatoes and the garlic should be done about the same time but the potato should take longer. Just keep checking them to see. When they are tender, they are done!
You want the tomatoes to cook until the skins burst and they look a bit browned and slightly charred. That should take about 40 minutes. Check them at about a half hour. Ovens vary. Yours may take more or less time than mine.
Next, slip the skins off of the tomatoes and place them in a soup pot. Add 4 cups (one box) of chicken or veggie broth and add the Italian seasoning and salt and pepper to taste. Then slip the roasted garlic out of the cloves and add it to the soup. Heat the soup on medium high.
When the potato is done, slip the skin off.
Put the potato in the soup pot.
Next, use the Masha right there in the heating soup pot in an up and down stirring motion. The soup will be gently blended but not puréed. Simmer for 10-15 minutes to blend the flavors.
Lastly, tear the fresh basil leaves and add them to the soup pot. Taste it to make sure it seasoned the way you like it. Pour into bowls and enjoy!
