Roasted Garlic Tomato Soup

I have had some success with soup and so far this is my favorite. It takes a little prep but it is so good. The cashew cream gives it that creamy taste you expect from creamy buttery soups. I am a fan of cashew cream. The cashew cream recipe I linked is by Tal Ronnen who has a wonderful book called The Conscious Cook. I highly recommend that book.

I served this at a luncheon today and it got rave reviews and requests for the recipe. I roasted all the veggies the day before and assembled the soup this morning and it was easy and quick. It keeps well and can even be frozen. I doubled this recipe to serve 14 people.

Robin's Roasted Garlic Tomato Soup

• 1 quart tomatoes  - I used the fabulous tomatoes I froze this summer but you could use fresh or canned.
• 4 small heads of garlic (or 2 large heads)
• 1 large onion- roughly chopped
• 2 cups Vegetable stock (I like Pacific organic)
• 1/2 cup Cashew Cream or to taste (http://www.talronnen.com/recipes/cashew-cream)
• Fresh Basil - 1/4 cup finely chopped- diced

Roast garlic - Here is a tutorial: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/roasted_garlic/ I dipped the cut heads in olive oil rather than drizzling oil so I used less oil. I also had to roast mine about 1 hour rather than 30 minutes. They sell roasted garlic at Sunflower if you'd rather use that.

Roast Tomatoes - spread tomatoes on large baking sheet with a lip - spray with Pam and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Roast at 325 for 2 - 3 hours. Let cool.

Saute onion until soft and sweet.

Put tomatoes (and juices if any), roasted garlic (squeeze them out of the skins) and onion in blender with enough vegetable stock to blend - and blend until smooth.

Pour blended mix into soup pan and add rest of stock. Stir in cashew cream. Simmer for about 30 minutes. 15 minutes before serving add basil.

Serve with soft whole wheat rolls and a huge dark green salad - of course!