It’s that time of year again; tomato season is here! Tomato season usually means sauce-making season in our family, but this year I decided to try something a little different with our garden goodies. Our garden happens to be about 90% tomatoes this year and with a new baby, a lot of tomatoes and cool weather on the way, I wanted to make something easy, hearty and long lasting (planning for lots of leftovers is always a good idea with a new baby).

I love the fall and pretty much everything that comes with it: cozy knits, colourful crisp walks, and, of course, warm – hearty meals. Making tomato soup is a lot like making sauce, in fact my husband thinks that this soup recipe could double as a sauce if I just add a few meatballs and pasta noodles; definitely an option if you want to try it.

When I started thinking about making tomato soup, I wanted something that was flavourful, rich and simple. So I started playing around with the different ways I could cook the tomatoes. At first I wanted to roast them, and there are many roasted tomato recipes out there, but that made for a lot of steps and this mama does not have time for too many steps. Then I thought about the traditional stove top recipes I’d tried in the past and these are always good, but I wanted a different flavour and consistency ( a roasted flavour, and creamy consistency with the simplicity of a one pot recipe). So I decided to throw everything into a casserole dish and hope for the best. It actually turned out and tastes delicious! Hope you enjoy it.

JOSEPHINE’S BAKED TOMATO SOUP

INGREDIENTS

 ¼ cup of olive oil

4 cups cherry vine tomatoes, halved

1 cup sweet long green peppers, chopped

1 red onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, diced

1 basil leaf

2 sprigs of fresh oregano

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary

4 sprigs of parsley

1 teaspoon of salt & pepper

½ cup of water

1 teaspoon freshly grated Parmesan

2 teaspoons sour cream

DIRECTIONS 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Coat the bottom of a casserole dish with olive oil (a 14 inch rectangular dish or Dutch oven will work)
3. Add, tomatoes, peppers, onion, garlic, salt, pepper and water. Mix all ingredients together.
4. Place herbs on top of the mixture, cover with tinfoil or lid and bake for 35 -40 minutes (or until the tomatoes and peppers have softened).
5. Bake for another 5 min uncovered, to give the veggies a roasted taste.
6. Remove cooked herbs.
7. Pour ingredients into a pot and blend using an immersion blender, this gives the soup a creamy consistency.
8. Spoon into serving bowls, adding a dollop of sour cream, some freshly grated Parmesan and a sprig of parsley.

Enjoy!

Hint: if you use a Dutch Oven you can skip a step (pouring ingredients into a pot) as the Dutch Oven is deep enough to use the immersion blender. You will also have one less pot to wash!