A sweet, savory and slightly spicy soup made with roasted tomatoes and roasted New Mexico red chile. If you don't have fresh tomatoes and red chile, you could substitute with canned fire-roasted tomatoes and roasted red bell peppers.
The prep and cook time doesn't included the roasting of tomatoes which takes an hour nor the roasted and peeling of red chile which takes about 2 hours. If you have both of these in the freezer, then this soup is fast and easy to throw together.
Be sure to read the Kitchen Notes for substitutions, more information and related links.
Preheat oven to 425 F.
Core the tomatoes.
Cover a sheet pan with parchment or aluminum foil. Place the cored tomatoes, cored side up, in one layer.
Roast in the oven for 30 - 40 minutes until the edges of the skins start to brown.
Remove from oven and let cool. Remove the peels by pinching the skin at the bottom of the tomato and sliding out the flesh and liquid. Set aside until ready to add to the soup.
Prep the vegetables.
Pour the roasted red chile, tomatoes and their juice into the pot.
Add the bouillon paste, white pepper, mustard powder, smoked paprika and oregano.
Cook for about 15 minutes.
Working in two batches, transfer soup to blender, adding half the basil to each batch. Blend until smooth.
Transfer blended soup back into soup pot. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. If too acidic, add 1 teaspoon honey. You can add up to 3 teaspoons without it making the soup too sweet.
Heat the soup and let simmer for about 15 minutes. Retaste and adjust seasoning to your taste.
Serve immediately with a couple of toppings, crackers, quesadilla, or grilled cheese.
If you have too much, let cool and transfer to freezer containers. Freeze for cold weather lunches.
Thaw and reheat when ready to serve.
Roasted tomatoes - The tomatoes can be roasted up to 2 days before making the soup. If you don't want to roast tomatoes, substitute with three 14 ounce can of fire-roasted tomatoes and their juice.
Roasted Red Chile - The chile can be roasted up to 2 days before. Follow the link to see how to roast and prep the chile. If you don't have fresh red chile, substitute toasted red bell pepper. The amount of chile you use depends on how spicy you want the soup and how hot the chile is. For a mild soup, use mild chile or roasted red bell peppers. For a spicy chile, use medium to hot. We prefer medium.
Bouillon paste - I use the vegetable or chicken broth paste made by Better Than Bouillon. The reason you don't use broth or stock is because there is usually enough liquid from the roasted tomatoes.
Freezing the soup - Because there is no dairy in this soup, it freezes very well. I usually take the leftovers and freeze in 2 cup containers. During the colder months a cup of soup and grilled cheese makes a fabulous meal.
Recipe author: MJ of MJ's Kitchen