Summerizing the Tomato

It’s unfortunate that our food cravings don’t always coincide with the season. You can’t get a perfectly ripe, juicy peach in January, no matter where it’s been flown in from. You can, however, work with what you’ve got with pretty good results.

There is no substitute for summer tomatoes, which is why you should always do as little as possible to them when cooking in order to take advantage of their flavor. When tomatoes are not at their peak, roasting them really helps. Roast them with garlic, herbs and a little olive oil until they are practically falling apart and toss them with pasta for dinner. Roast a few extra and you’ve got the next day’s lunch, tomato soup.

It’s not quite summer tomato soup, but it’ll do nicely.

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Roasted Tomato Soup

Active Work Time and Total Preparation Time: 10 minutes

To roast tomatoes, slice plum tomatoes in half and put them in a baking dish cut side up. Drizzle with about 2 tablespoons olive oil and top with 6 thinly sliced garlic cloves and either chopped basil or thyme. Season with salt and pepper, then roast at 400 degrees until very tender, about 30 to 40 minutes.

6 roasted tomatoes

1 3/4 cups vegetable stock

1 tablespoon cream

Salt, pepper

Croutons

* Place tomatoes and stock in blender and puree until smooth, about 2 minutes. Turn into medium saucepan and heat over medium heat until hot, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in cream and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with croutons.

2 servings. Each serving: 175 calories; 1,035 mg sodium; 5 mg cholesterol; 16 grams fat; 8 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0.61 gram fiber.