Roasted Garlic and Tomato Soup

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• Slice the top off the garlic bulb so that all the cloves are exposed. Drizzle a few tablespoons of olive oil into the bulb and sprinkle with salt. Wrap it in aluminum foil and place it on a tray or in a baking dish to prevent oil from spilling into your oven. Put it in the oven and roast for about 40 minutes.
• While the garlic is roasting, wash and slice the tops off the tomatoes, right where the stems were, and then halve the tomatoes lengthwise. Transfer the halved tomatoes to a baking dish, spread them out evenly, and sprinkle with salt. Add them to the oven to roast for about half an hour.
• While everything is roasting, slice the onion. Add a knob of butter to a soup pot over medium-low heat. Once it has melted, add the onions and a pinch of salt. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Note that if the onions start to take on too much color, reduce the heat.
• After 20 minutes, the onions should be translucent and starting to caramelize slightly. Add the tomato paste and stir. If you are using the parmesan rind, add it now. Continue to cook the mixture over medium-low heat to allow the flavors to meld together.
• Remove the garlic and tomatoes from the oven. The garlic cloves should be lightly browned and soft when pressed. Flip the tomatoes and return them to the oven under the broiler for about 3 minutes. Keep an eye on them; you just want them to get slightly caramelized with a few small black spots, but avoid charring them. Remove them from the oven.
• Squeeze all the garlic out of the peel and into the onion mixture, then add in the tomatoes and all their juices. If using the parmesan rind, you can take an optional step and let this mixture cook over medium-low heat for another 20 minutes to allow the flavors to meld further.
• Blend the soup with the basil until smooth. Serve with crusty bread.