Between Christmas and New Year's Day, my family tends to nest a lot and lean into soups and stews paired with all manner of warm baked breads, spiced nuts, and toasty beverages. And at least one of our days finds us sitting down to a lunch of this beautiful soup with a grilled cheese or turkey salad sandwich and marveling at the beautiful produce that our gardens and CSA box have provided in the last year.
A lot of the produce in this soup can be tweaked a bit, but keep the tomatoes and onion and make sure you have some kind of bean (you can pick your favorite or what you have on hand) and a hearty green (collard greens work well too). Roasting the tomatoes and garlic (and onion, but you could easily substitute peppers or shallots) helps concentrate and deepen their flavors and they form the heart of this soup. It's what makes is a favorite in my home.
As I mentioned earlier, this soup pairs beautifully with a sandwich, though you could whip up a salad or even just enjoy it with pieces of toasted sourdough bread. However you choose to serve it, give yourself the gift of setting aside the screens and savoring the moment, ideally with the company of people you love. So many types of warmth to enjoy this holiday season, right?
Roasted Tomato & Garlic Vegetable Soup
- 10-12 fresh ripe tomatoes
- 1 medium onion
- 1 bulb garlic
- 2 T. olive oil
- 1 small bunch fresh basil, finely chopped
- 1 large carrot, sliced thin
- ½ c. finely chopped celery root
- 1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
- 6 c. vegetable or chicken broth
- 2-3 c. chopped kale or spinach
- ½ tsp. fresh ground pepper
- ½ tsp. salt
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Coarsely chop the tomatoes, finely dice the tomatoes, and separate the garlic into individual cloves, but leave them in their skins. Toss all of it with the olive oil and arrange in a single layer on a large sheet pan. Roast the mixture for 30-40 minutes until all of it is softened and the garlic is soft enough to squeeze out of its skins. Add the basil to the pan and mix gently to wilt it and incorporate its flavor. When the garlic is cool enough, squeeze all of the cloves out of their skins and add it to the contents of the sheet pan. This step can be done up to 2 days in advance and the roasted goodness can be stored, tightly sealed, in the refrigerator until you are ready to finish the soup.
Using a spatula, add all of the contents of the sheet pan to a large stock pot. At this point, you can blend the roasted vegetables if you'd like a smoother soup. I blended mine a little, but left some chunks in the mix. Add the carrot, celery root, cannellini beans, and broth. Bring to a boil; reduce the heat to a simmer and keep a simmer going for 20-30 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. Add the kale, pepper, and salt. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Serve hot with crusty bread.
- Yields: 6-8 servings
- Preparation Time: 50-70 minutes - can be split into 2 shorter parts over the course of up to 2 days