Roasted Tomato Soup

Tomato soup is a cold-weather classic. I've bumped it up a notch using roasted plum tomatoes, basil and chili flakes. The result is a spicy soup with complex flavour. This soup is so thick it could easily double as pasta sauce - I can totally picture this paired with Italian sausage for a smashing lasagna! Try it, it's comfort in a bowl!



Roasted Tomato Soup
Inspired by the Barefoot Contessa

2 lbs plum tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon chili flakes
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups onions, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
28 oz can diced tomatoes (with juice)
2 tablespoons dried basil
4 cups chicken stock

Preheat oven to 450oF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the tomato halves face up. Season with salt, pepper and chili flakes; drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Roast in oven for approximately 45 minutes.

Once tomatoes are roasted, heat remaining olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Sauté the onions and garlic for about 10 minutes, until golden-brown. Add canned tomatoes, dried basil, chicken stock and roasted tomatoes and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for approximately 45 minutes.

Cool in fridge overnight or bring to room temparature. Working in small batches purée soup using blender of food processor.

*Warning: Do not blend hot liquids! Built up steam can blow the lid right of the blender making a nasty mess, not to mention the burns that would result!

Yield: 8 cups

Spaghetti Bolognese

My spaghetti sauce usually has little meat and lots of chunky vegetables but I decided to shake things up today. Stephen loves Spaghetti Bolognese so I thought I'd spoil him a bit. I tried to give it a "healthy spin" with lots of camouflaged veggies and extra lean ground turkey instead of beef. End result - tasty! Especially love the red wine base! :)



2 tbsp olive oil
1.5 cups carrots, grated
1.5 cups celery, minced
2 large onions, minced
2 lbs ground turkey
5 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 cups red wine
2 cans tomatoes, diced
1 cup milk
Salt and pepper to taste

In large pot, heat olive oil over medium/high heat. Sauté carrots, celery and onions 2 or 3 minutes. Make a well and add ground turkey. Sauté until cooked through. Add garlic, sauté approximately one minute. Mix in tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce, cook 2 or 3 minutes. Mix in red wine, canned tomatoes and milk. Salt and pepper to taste.

Simmer over low heat for about 2 hours.

Serve with spaghetti and garlic bread.

Yield: Lots!!! (About two large ice cream containers' worth.)