Back to the Cutting Board
Remember when I said I was excited about making soup this fall? Well, the prospect of soup sounded so good that I may have jumped the gun a little. But that’s ok because this might as well be called “Summer’s Almost Over Soup.” It’s full of fresh and bright summer produce but it’s warm and hearty and creamy and perfect for those late summer evenings when the temperatures are finally starting to drop.
I really wasn’t expecting this soup to be so good, I was just trying to use up the two weeks worth of yellow tomatoes from my CSA and this recipe fit the bill. I wound up changing the original recipe quite a bit, though. That’s what I love about soup, you can almost always add your own spin to it without risking messing it up completely. For instance, if you can’t get your hands on yellow tomatoes, I’m sure regular tomatoes would work just fine.
My main change was to roast the tomatoes. Roasted vegetables are my favorite side dish, I can’t think of any vegetable that isn’t improved by oven roasting so the thought of concentrating all those flavors into a soup practically had me salivating. I roasted the tomatoes along with a yellow bell pepper, onion, garlic and a red jalapeno. The original recipe calls for canned chipotle chilies, which are just red jalapenos that have been smoked so all I had to do was add a little liquid smoke to get the same flavor.
I have to warn you: this soup is really spicy. But I’m a total wimp when it comes to spicy stuff and I loved it. The heat is what takes this soup above and beyond any tomato soup I’ve ever had and I think it would be pretty boring without it. But if you’re worried, I used the whole jalapeno including the seeds; you can remove the seeds for a less spicy soup.
How have I gotten this far and not mentioned the bacon?! Oh yes, lots of delicious bacon. And this soup is really easy to make. The roasted vegetables are pureed (a lot or a little depending on how chunky you like your soup) and then added to the pot with the bacon, some broth and a little wine. After the ingredients have simmered for a little while and all the flavors have come together heavy cream is stirred in to give the soup that perfect creamy texture. This tomato soup is not for the faint of heart, but it’s worth every spoonful. And spicy foods make you burn more calories, right? It practically makes up for itself in the end. (Ok, not really, but it’s so good you won’t care.)
Update: I got orange tomatoes in my CSA box this week and my first thought was to make more of this soup. I used a mix of large orange tomatoes, cherry tomatoes and red peppers. It tastes just as good and it’s actually a much prettier color than the yellow tomato soup. So feel free to use whatever color tomatoes you want!
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Roasted Tomato, Pepper, and Bacon Soup
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Ingredients
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- 2 lbs. tomatoes (any color), cut in half (or quarters if very large)
- 1 large onion, peeled and cut into wedges
- 1 bell pepper (red, yellow or orange) , ribs and seeds removed, cut into 1-inch strips
- 1 jalapeno pepper, cut in half (remove seeds for a less spicy soup)*
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled
- 6 bacon slices (about 5 ounces), chopped
- 1/2 cup dry white wine or sherry**
- 2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth**
- 1/2 tsp. liquid smoke (optional)
- 1 tbsp. fresh chopped oregano leaves or 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 1/2 cup heavy cream***
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
Process
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F).
- Place all the vegetables on a large baking sheet (you may need to use two pans). Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Toss until the vegetables are well coated. Roast for about 30 minutes or until the tomatoes are wrinkly and the edges of the onions are starting to get crispy and dark.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes. Transfer the vegetables to a food processor or blender. Process until the vegetables are as smooth or chunky as you like. I like a fairly smooth soup so I processed mine for a while.
- Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a large dutch oven or pot over medium heat.
- Pour the vegetable puree into the pot and add the wine. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add the chicken broth and liquid smoke. Simmer, uncovered, until reduced slightly, about 15 minutes.
- Stir in oregano. Pour in cream and stir until heated through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve.
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