Tomato Soup with Roasted Garlic and Herbs

Due to the continued swelling of my throat, I'm kind of relegated to soups only for the next couple of days.  But I didn't want just any soup.  I needed a special soup, a magical soup, a soup that could banish the grossness of being sick...at least for a little while.  That's where this recipe from seriouseats comes in.  I love it so much it makes me want to cry hot tears of joy.  The fire-roasted tomatoes and the roasted garlic make the soup explode with flavor, and every time I finish eating a bowl, I immediately want another.  Plus, it's really low calorie and relatively cheap!  I'd even go so far as to say it's my favorite tomato soup recipe of all-time (okay, or maybe this one, but it's really close).

Click below to get the recipe!

List of ingredients for the soup:
1 tbsp olive oil, plus a little for drizzling on the garlic
1 large onion, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
1 28-oz can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1 28-oz can fire-roasted crushed tomatoes
3 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth for a vegetarian option)
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. cayenne
1 head of garlic
2 tbsp. fresh parsley, minced
salt & pepper
1 tbsp. sugar
Plain yogurt for topping the soup

First, I prepared the most important component of the soup (to me, at least), the roasted garlic. Roasted garlic is the most wonderful thing in the world - some nights I will roast up a head (or two) of garlic just to spread on crusty bread for a snack.  It's pretty easy to make, too.  Step one:  I preheated the oven to 400 degrees, and peeled away the outer husk of one big head of garlic (so that each individual clove keeps its skin).

Then I sliced off the very top of the head of garlic, so that cloves are exposed.

I drizzled the head of garlic in a little olive oil, rubbing the oil all over, and sprinkled with just a touch of kosher salt.

I wrapped the garlic in foil and threw it in the oven for about 45 minutes, until the garlic cloves were nice and soft.  Finally, I took the foil ball out of the oven, unwrapped the garlic, let it cool slightly, and then just gently squeezed the cloves out of the remaining husk.  

Now onto the rest of the soup!

First, I sautéed the onion and celery in olive oil in a pot over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until the onion was translucent and soft.

Next, I added both cans of tomatoes, the broth, oregano, basil, and cayenne. I brought the pot to a boil, then reduced the heat and simmered.

After about 10 minutes, I added the beautiful roasted garlic cloves, removed the pot from the heat and puréed the soup with my immersion blender until smooth. 

I put the pot back on low heat, added the minced parsley, seasoned to taste, and simmered another 10 minutes.  I then added about 1 tbsp. of sugar (to cut the acidity of the tomatoes).

I served this soup with a dollop of plain yogurt.  I wanted to eat it with crusty bread, but my poor aching throat was just not having it.  No matter, the soup itself was filling enough.  Hopefully by the time I finish off this batch, I'll be back to eating solids again like a normal person.