Jo's Cookbook
Roasted Tomato Soup with Basil Crostini
4 large tomatoes, halved, cored and seeded
1 Tbl olive oil, divided
1 cup chopped carrots
3/4 cup chopped shallots
2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup reduced-fat milk
salt and pepper to taste
12 thin slices of French bread
1 garlic clove, halved
2 Tbl Parmesan cheese
1 Tbl. fresh basil (or 1 tsp dried)
1. Preheat oven to 425. Put tomato halves, cut sides down, in a jelly-roll pan and drizzle with 2 tsp il. Bake at 425 for 35 minutes--until slightly charred. Remove from ovens. When cool, remove and discards skins.
2. Heat 1 tsp oil in soup pot. Add carrot and shallots and saute 8 minutes. Add broth. Partially cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add tomato. Let cool.
3. Place half of tomato mixture into blender. Process until smooth. Then blend second half of tomato mixture. Return tomato mixture to pan. Add milk, salt, and pepper and cook five minutes until heated.
4. Preheat broiler. Put bread slices on baking rack and broil for fifteen seconds, until lightly toasted. Rub bread with cut sides of garlic. Sprinkle with cheese and basil. Broil for 20 seconds, until cheese melts.
5. Serve two basil crostini per cup of soup.
Jo's Comments: We have tried and tried, and this is the perfect tomato soup recipe--at least in mine and Ray's opinion. Yummy!