Spicy & Creamy Roasted Garlic and Tomato Soup

This was a true experiment the other night as I really had no idea how it would turn out and it pretty much came about from me just finding things in the kitchen to make soup out of. I had a huge can of plum tomatoes, some time to kill and a hankerin’ for something a bit spicy. Originally, I thought I had some tofu as well, which I had planned to put in the soup to make it creamy. Checked the fridge — nope.

On to Plan B. I looked around and found yogurt and figured I could use that and some milk to do the trick. But, if you have tofu, I’d try that as it usually works really well in soups. You can still add some milk if you want the consistency a bit thinner. Or, go ahead and use the yogurt, it worked well for me. This is like one of those choose your own adventure books except with soup.

Spicy & Creamy Roasted Garlic and Tomato Soup
1 28oz can plum tomatoes
1 onion, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dried basil
10 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp (or less) red pepper flakes
1 cup fresh spinach leaves, loosely packed
1/2 cup tofu or 1/2 cup low fat yogurt + 1/2 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste

Optional: Trader Joe’s Roasted Minced Garlic*, fresh basil leaves and toasted pita chips

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Wrap the unpeeled garlic cloves in aluminum foil and roast for about 30-40 minutes until soft. Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, dice onion and sauté in olive oil over medium heat for 5-6 minutes. Let the onions develop a little color. Add the dried basil and red pepper flakes. (Start with less than 1/4 teaspoon unless you know you want it spicy).

Add the canned tomatoes (everything in the can) and let simmer for 10 minutes or so. Add the spinach and let wilt down. Also add the roasted garlic cloves. Peel or just squeeze the paste out into the soup. If you are using tofu, cut it into cubes and add it with the spinach as well.

Let cool a little and blend in batches until smooth. If you are using yogurt and milk, blend the soup without the dairy, then, whisk that in after the initial blending.

Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Warm over low heat and serve with pita chips, roasted garlic sprinkles and fresh basil leaves.

In the Summer, I think this would also be very good served cool (especially the version made with yogurt) — add some diced cucumber and red onion on top and I bet that’d be tasty!

* Jar of Roasted Minced Garlic — worth its weight in gold!

Tomorrow: IMBB#25!