AWESOME ON THE VINE CREAMY TOMATO SOUP

Steps:

• 1. Gather your ingredients.
• 2. Preheat the oven to 450f/232c
• 3. Roughly chop the carrots, onions, and the leek, and then add them to the bowl of a food processor fitted with an S-blade.
• 4. Pulse the veggies until roughly ground, several 1-second pulses.
• 5. Add the ground vegetables to a large ovenproof skillet, or a rimmed baking sheet,
• 6. Quarter the tomatoes.
• 7. Place the quartered tomatoes on a rimmed baking sheet, cut side up.
• 8. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and olive oil.
• 9. Add the veggies and tomatoes to the preheated oven, and bake for about 50 minutes,
• 10. Chef's Tip: The veggies should be browned on top, and the tomatoes should be beginning to collapse.
• 11. Chef's Note: The veggies used to create the broth for this soup is called a mirepoix.
• 12. Add the reserved tomato vine, basil, oregano, and thyme sprigs to a large soup pot.
• 13. Chef's Tip: If you have a good sized, heavy bottomed pot, like enameled cast iron, that would be excellent.
• 14. Add the 8 cups filtered water to the pot.
• 15. Remove the pans from the oven and add the roasted vegetables into the pot
• 16. Set the pan aside, but do not clean out.
• 17. Bring the contents of the pot to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer.
• 18. Place the pan used to roast the veggies over medium high heat, and then add the tomato paste.
• 19. Cook until the tomato paste begins to darken, and then add about 3 or 4 tablespoons of water.
• 20. Take a wooden spoon, and use it to scrape up the brown bits of veggies still adhering to the bottom of the pan. Scrape until they are all incorporated into the tomato paste.
• 21. Add the tomato paste mixture to the pot, and continue to simmer for a total simmering time of about 50 minutes.
• 22. Chef's Tip: If your simmer is too high, you will lose a lot of your liquid. If your simmer is right, you should lose no more than 1 to 1.5 cups of liquid to evaporation.
• 23. Remove from the heat, and allow the broth to stand for about 10 minutes.
• 24. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve, and discard the solids.
• 25. After wiping out the pot, return the strained broth to the pot.
• 26. Add the tomatoes, and any accumulated liquids into the pot with the broth.
• 27. Bring to a boil over high heat, and then reduce to a simmer.
• 28. Continue to simmer for about 30 minutes.
• 29. Remove the pot from the heat and allow the mixture to rest for about 10 minutes.
• 30. Using a food processer fitted with an S-blade, or an immersion blender, purée the soup.
• 31. If using a food processer, return the soup to the pot, and add the heavy cream, and crème fraîche.
• 32. Chef's Note: If you are using an immersion blender, there's no need to return the soup to the pot, because it's already in the pot.
• 33. After adding the dairy, warm the soup, but do not bring it to a simmer or boil.
• 34. Add additional salt, pepper, and cayenne, to taste.
• 35. Chef's Tip: Good chefs always taste and season their food. Taste and season... taste and season... With all this tasting going on, it's no wonder that there are not a lot of skinny chefs.
• 36. Divide into serving bowls, and add an additional bit of crème fraîche. Enjoy.
• 37. Chef's Note: This is an excellent soup to enjoy on a cold Autumn evening... along with a nice grilled cheese sandwich.
• 38. Keep the faith, and keep cooking.