Cozy Day in Seattle

Fall has officially arrived here in Seattle... This isn't entirely bad -- I do love the sunshine here in Seatown, but something can definitely be said for autumn in the Pacific Northwest too. The leaves are turning golden hues and rosy reds and there's a crisp bite to the air. In response, t-shirts have been replaced with fleece jackets, iced lattes with hot mochas, and AC with crackling fires.

Speaking of the latter, B and I decided to wrap up our Sunday yesterday with a cozy fire and even cozier meal. We had a bunch of tomatoes from the garden (which by the way, anybody out there have a recipe for green tomatoes?) and a bagful of leftover hot dog buns from Saturday's football tailgate. With a little help from Mr. Tyler Florence, we were able to tranform these ordinary items into a warming, roasted tomato soup.

First we converted the hotdog buns into croutons -- typically I like my croutons a bit more dense, but the airiness of these actually were nice in the soup. The crutons are the Robin to the soup's Batman. It plays an active role in the dish, but it was definitely the sidekick of the duo.

With the tomatoes we threw the batch into the oven at 175 degrees for almost two hours. Depending how much you like it roasted, feel free to cook it longer or turn up the temp a bit higher. Afterwards, we pulled them out, combined them with some sauteed onions and garlic, chicken broth, and butter. After simmering for 30 minutes, we zipped it in the blender and WALLAH! (is that how you spell "wallah"?)(update: With a twinkle in her eye, B pointed out it's not "Wallah", but rather "Voila". I knew she was a smart one.) : Tomato soup fit enough for a king. Or two food lovin', hungry people.

Don't let the amount of time involved intimidate you... It's pretty laid back. Most of time is either roasting the tomatoes in the oven or waiting for the soup to simmer. During that time you can watch a movie, clean your room, knit something, or play some video games. But if you're really in a hurry, you can crank the heat to 450 degrees for 20-30 minutes. And believe me, the end result is well worth it!

Ok, here's the recipe.

Roasted Tomato Soup

Recipe adapted from Tyler Florence

Prep Time:20 min

Cook Time: 2 hours

Serves: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 pounds fresh tomatoes (mix of fresh heirlooms, cherry, vine and plum tomatoes)
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 small yellow onions, sliced
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 quart chicken stock
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 tablespoons butter (we used this much, but in the future we'll probably halve it)

Directions

Preheat oven to 175 degrees F.

Wash, core and cut the tomatoes into halves. Spread the tomatoes onto a baking tray. Drizzle with 1/2 cup of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 1.5- 2 hours or until caramelized.

With about 20 minutes left for the tomatoes, add the onions and garlic to a large stock pot. Saute the two until caramelized. (Tyler says to roast the onions and garlic with the tomatoes in the oven, but the first time I did, the onions burned. Not pretty, but definitely roasted. I like my method better.)

Remove roasted tomatoes from the oven and transfer to a large stock pot with onions and garlic. Add 3/4 of the chicken stock, bay leaves, and butter. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until liquid has reduced by a third.

Use a blender (immersion blender if you have one) to puree the soup until smooth. Be careful not to fill up the blender -- hot liquid expands/explodes. I know from personal experience. If the soup is too thick after blending, return to the stove and add the remaining stock until it's the consistency you want.

Add croutons (see below) and enjoy.

Croutons

Two hot dog buns, cubed. If you wish, you can butter and season, but we found it was fine plain.

Place on baking sheet, and toast in the oven for 30 minutes. This can be done near the end of the tomato roasting.