Roasted Tomato & Pumpkin Soup

We have officially entered soup season, well actually Fall. In our home, as soon as the AC turns off, we are making soups and stews. I am fortunate that my husband and daughter love soup, because I love to make it!

Growing up, we weren’t exposed to many varieties of soup. It usually entailed homemade broth, with some pasta and veggies. Don’t get me wrong, I loved that as soon as there was a sniffle in the house my mother was minutes into making a homemade batch of chicken broth. It wasn’t until I was in my 20s that our family started “branching out” and making butternut squash and other varieties later. It then became an unofficial tradition to have butternut squash for Thanksgiving.

Our garden harvest poured well into October and I managed to grab some ripened garden tomatoes to make a tasty roasted tomato and pumpkin soup.

Is roasting pumpkin that difficult?

Roasting pumpkin isn’t difficult to do, the worst part really, is cutting it open. I recommend buying smaller sized pumpkins, making prep time a lot easier. If you are pressed for time, a can of pumpkin puree works as well. Once they have cooled, the skin just peels right off and you can easily add it into the mix.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups roasted tomatoes (6-7 medium sized Romano tomatoes), you can use can tomatoes as well)
• 3 cups of roasted pumpkin OR 1 can of pumpkin puree
• 2 1/2 cups chicken or veggie broth
• 2 medium sized carrots
• 1/2 white onion
• 2-3 tbsps olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 and line a half sheet pan with parchment paper.
2. Core tomatoes, cut in half and remove seeds, lay onto sheet pan.
3. Cut pumpkin into quarters, add to sheet pan with the tomatoes.
4. Salt and drizzle olive oil (about 1-2 tbsp) over tomatoes and pumpkins.
5. Roast for about 30 minutes, the pumpkin is ready if you can pierce a fork through it with ease. Once it is baked, peel off the skin from the pumpkin.
6. In a pot, on medium high heat, drizzle 1 tbsp olive oil and sautee onions and carrots.
7. Once they have softened, add the tomatoes and roasted pumpkin.
8. Season to taste, I would add about a teaspoon, you can always add later.
9. Add the broth and let it simmer for about 20 minutes.
10. Once the soup has cooled, blend until smooth.
11. Season to taste if necessary. Serve immediately and warm.

Enjoy!
Antonietta xo