It’s no secret that I have a real thing for blistered tomatoes and I use them in many recipes. This season, I will try my hand at actually growing my own…..gardening has never been my strong suit, but hey I’m willing to give it a whirl! This soup is a favorite in my house, as with all of my recipes it is so easy and quick to prepare and really delicious. I start with a soffritto, you remember that right? It’s the holy trinity of starters for soups, sauces and a host of other dishes. Here is all you will need for this wonderful soup.
1 large carrot peeled and diced
1 stalk of celery diced
1/2 C white onion diced
16 oz cherry tomatoes
2 C crushed tomatoes
2 C chicken or vegetable stock
2 Tbs pesto
salt & pepper to taste
Spread cherry tomatoes on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil, roast in the oven at 375 for about 30 minutes or until they look nice and blistered. While tomatoes are roasting make the soffritto. Add soffritto to the pot with about 1/2 C olive oil and saute for about 10 minutes. Once tomatoes are done add them to the pot along with the crushed tomatoes and stock. Let that all simmer for about 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and using an immersion blender, blend the soup until smooth and creamy. Feel free to add a bit of 1/2 and 1/2 if you like but you certainly don’t need it. Add pesto and S&P to taste and that’s it! I like to drizzle a bit of pesto on top for serving as well as a few toasted pine nuts. Some fresh warm bread and a glass of wine and you pretty much have perfection!
