A weeknight tomato soup that tastes like it took all day. It did, just not from you.
This is the soup I make when I want something that tastes like I tried, on a day I didn't. Active time is about ten minutes. The rest is the oven doing the work while I do something else.
Two kilos of ripe tomatoes, halved. A whole head of garlic, top sliced off. Two onions, quartered. All of it on a sheet tray, glug of olive oil, generous salt, into a 200°C oven for an hour. That's the work.
While it roasts, the kitchen starts to smell like something honest. The tomatoes blister and collapse. The garlic goes sweet and squeezable. The onions caramelise at the edges. When the timer goes, everything goes into a blender — squeeze the garlic out of its skin first — along with a little stock or water, a splash of cream if you have it. Blend until smooth. Taste. More salt, probably.
Serve with bread, or don't. Either way, you'll have lunch for three days.
