Roasted Tomato Soup

As a non-recipe follower myself (the irony, I know!), I have indeed attempted a lot of tomato soup recipes. So many of them have tons of good reviews but they never live up to that classic tomato soup flavor I really crave. Slightly sweet, savory, a little spicy, creeeeeeamy… This dish delivers. I promise, promise.
It is packed full of flavor, thanks in part to the fact that all the vegetables are roasted first. Roasting the veggies opens up their natural sweetness and adds an incredible depth to the soup. This is the perfect soup to dunk some crusty bread into. Try this and tell me what you think!

Feel free to top with parmesan cheese, sharp cheddar, bacon or whatever else your heart desires.

Roasted Tomato Soup
Prep time: 10 minutes, Cook time: 30 minutes. Yields 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:
5 heirloom or beefsteak tomatoes
Handful cherry or grape tomatoes
3 carrots, roughly chopped
10 garlic cloves
2 small white onions
Olive oil
1 t salt
½ black pepper
1 T sugar
Red pepper flake to taste
2 ½ cups chicken broth
⅔ cup heavy cream
1 t balsamic vinegar

DIRECTIONS:
1.) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the vegetables and garlic on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Add red pepper flake to taste start with ½ teaspoon. Roast the vegetables for 25-30 minutes until slightly charred and caramelized.
2.) Once the veggies are cooked, sprinkle on 1 tablespoon of white sugar.
Add the vegetables and all of the juices/oil into a stock pot. Pour in the broth, heavy cream and balsamic vinegar.
3.) Use an immersion blender to slowly blend the soup. If you don’t have an immersion blender, allow the ingredients to cool slightly then blend in a blender.
4.) Taste, and add additional salt, pepper, sugar or balsamic depending on what you need. A little goes a long way!