Columnist Seiran Sinjari is back with a recipe that’s perfect for colder days: Vegan Roasted Olive Tomato Soup. Her recipe column All About the Veg! is all about highlighting the versatility of fruits and vegetables by shining a spotlight on a different one in each of her articles. Today is all about tomatoes.
Roasted Olive Tomato Soup
Itโs officially soup season and there are so many delicious ways to enjoy it! Soup is a great way to warm you up from within and most of them are pretty easy and fuss-free. Itโs also easy to get creative with new flavors and ingredients when making soup.
Whatโs more comforting on a winter day than a good old tomato soup served with grilled cheese? I canโt think of anything better. We do have beautiful winter tomatoes, but I feel like they need something extra to really come through. Enter: olives! Roasting olives with the tomatoes will really bring out that umami flavor and just a perfectly balanced hint of the briny, salty olives.
Iโm a big fan of using olives in cooked foods. You can let them simmer in slow-cooked stews, grill them, fry them or roast them like weโre doing today. Theyโre perfect for the winter season when we want to bring out more flavors of the produce weโre working with.
What You’ll Need
- Tomatoes
- Pitted big green olives
- Fresh thyme
- Garlic
- Shallots
- Olive oil
- Tomato paste
- Basil leaves
- Vegan (heavy) cream
- Vegetable stock
- Dried oregano
- Dried basil
- Salt
- Pepper
- Chili flakes
- Sugar (if you have tomatoes with high acid)
Serve with:
- Vegan grilled cheese or other bread
How to Make This Recipe
Step one: preheat the oven
Preheat the oven to 200 C / 390 F.
Step two: Prepare the tomatoes and garlic
If you are using large tomatoes, cut them in half. Cut off the top part of the garlic head.
Step three: add the ingredients to a baking tray
Place the tomatoes, garlic, shallots, thyme and olives on a baking tray. Drizzle over 2 tablespoons of olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Make sure the thyme is tucked under the tomatoes or olives so it doesn’t burn. Place the garlic with the cut side down.
Step four: roast the vegetables
Roast in the oven for 40-50 minutes until everything is tender.
Step five: bring it all together
Heat 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot and stir-fry the tomato for 1 minute. Add all roasted vegetables (squeeze the garlic cloves out of the skin and remove tomato sprigs), basil leaves, vegan cream, vegetable stock, oregano, basil pepper and chili flakes. Blend the soup until smooth and let simmer for a couple of minutes. Adjust with more stock if you want it thinner. Finally season with salt after tasting it, as both the olives and the broth are savory.
Roasted Olive Tomato Soup
Ingredients
- 1 kg / 2 lbs of tomatoes
- 100 g / 2/3 cup pitted big green olives
- a couple sprigs of fresh thyme
- 1 whole head of garlic
- 3 shallots peeled
- 2 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 10 basil leaves more to garnish with
- 200 ml / 3/4 cup + 1 tbsp vegan cream / heavy cream
- 200- 300 ml / 3/4 - 1 1/4 cup vegetable stock
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil
- salt pepper & chili flakes to taste
- + pinch of sugar if you have tomatoes with high acid
Serve with:
- Vegan grilled cheese or other bread
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200 C / 390 F.
- If you are using large tomatoes, cut them in half. Cut off the top part of the garlic head.
- Place the tomatoes, garlic, shallots, thyme and olives on a baking tray. Drizzle over 2 tablespoons of olive oil, season with salt and pepper.
- Make sure the thyme is tucked under the tomatoes or olives so it doesn't burn. Place the garlic with the cut side down.
- Roast in the oven for 40-50 minutes until everything is tender.
- Heat 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot and stir-fry the tomato for 1 minute. Add all roasted vegetables (squeeze the garlic cloves out of the skin and remove tomato sprigs), basil leaves, vegan cream, vegetable stock, oregano, basil pepper and chili flakes. Blend the soup until smooth and let simmer for a couple of minutes. Adjust with more stock if you want it thinner. Finally season with salt after tasting it, as both the olives and the broth are savory.
Recipe, text, and photography by Seiran Sinjari.
Any chance you have the conversion to cups? Thank you
Hi! Just added them:)