Whenever I get my hair done at Salon Cedar, owner Brendan Sullivan and I talk about food nonstop. During my last visit he shared with me this wonderful sheet pan soup recipe which is as easy to prepare as it is delicious. The vibrant color, the explosion of flavors and its simplicity is a work of genius. He gave me permission to share his recipe with you.
Ingredients:
One two-pound box of Compari tomatoes (available at Costco)
3 carrots
2 russet potatoes
1 medium onion
1 shallot
Between one and eight cloves of garlic (depending upon your love of garlic); I used eight.
2 whole cloves (the spice)
½ teaspoon of fennel seeds
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
Heavy cream
Chicken broth
Olive oil
Butter
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Place a sheet of parchment paper on a large rimmed cookie sheet
Peel onion, potato, shallot, carrots and garlic. Cut potatoes, onions and carrots into chunks. Wash and cut tomatoes in half.
Place vegetables and spices into a large bowl. Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil (or more) and toss to coat.
Spread vegetables on lined cookie sheet.
Bake for at least an hour before checking for doneness. It may take another half hour or more before the potatoes and carrots are soft and the tomatoes have collapsed.
For a chunky soup, slide the cooked vegetables into a soup pot and blend using a stick blender. For a smooth pureed soup, place cooked vegetables in a blender and mix thoroughly before pouring it back into the soup pot.
This mixture will be thick. Add enough chicken broth to create the soup consistency that you prefer . Bring to a boil and taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper as needed. Stir in a half cup or more of heavy cream (this is optional). Just before serving swirl in two tablespoons of butter.
This soup freezes very well and is so, so much better than any tomato soup that you can purchase.
• Patty Schied is a longtime Juneau resident who studied at the Cordon Bleu in London, has cooked meals for both AWARE and the Glory Hall, and has written a cookbook. Cooking For Pleasure appears every other week in Capital City Weekly.
Finished sheet pan tomato soup. (Photo by Patty Schied)
Vegetables ready for blending for sheet pan tomato soup. (Photo by Patty Schied)
Vegetables oven-roasted for sheet pan tomato soup. (Photo by Patty Schied)
