Here’s the thing about produce in San Francisco; if you’re going to buy a tomato, you’ve got to practically invest in a tomato. I’ve found inner city grocery store produce to be exceptionally uninspiring, but the alternative is the pedigreed-heirloom-organically-coddled $8/lb tomatoes that you find in the hipsterrific boroughs. Lucky for me, tomatoes are in season right now, so it’s gotten just a bit easier to find ripe, fresh, flavorful tomatoes that I remember picking in my backyard.

Hello, beauties.

I picked up a couple pounds of San Marzano tomatoes to make Smitten Kitchen’s Roasted Tomato Soup this afternoon. I also nabbed some cherry tomatoes to make another SK recipe that I’ve been lusting after for a little while, but that’s another story.

This is not a difficult recipe, although it’s a bit time consuming to properly roast the tomatoes, so I’d budget at least 1-1/2 to 2 hours for prep before you can dig in.

1. Wash and slice those tomatoes (plum, or another firm varietal, works best) lengthwise and arrange cut-side up on a baking sheet.

2. Generously sprinkle tomatoes with salt and pepper, then drizzle with olive oil. My dad recently gave me a jar of sea salt he collected from the coastline up beyond the Golden Gate, far from our polluted water. I’ve been using it a lot and haven’t died yet, so.

Prep site AND baking sheet in one long shot.

Fresh sea salt. Mmm.

3. Roast tomatoes at 400F for about an hour, or until soft and brownish. I’d recommend taking the garlic out before the hour-mark, as about half of mine were too overcooked and too hard for soup by the time i took them out of the oven. 30-40 minutes should do the trick.

Post-Roast

4. Let the fruits of your labor (ha!) cool for a bit, while you prep the pan for the rest of your soupy goodness. I did 3 1/3 cups water + a healthy dose of chicken bouillon, but broth or stock would work equally well, if not better. I started the water simmering with half a bouillon cube while the tomatoes were resting.

5. Scoop the tomatoes and the (now-peeled) garlic into your food processor or blender and pulse ’til it’s a delicious, chunky puree. If you want your soup smoother, by all means keep going, but a little texture is nice with these flavors.

6. Add the tomato puree along with 1/4 tsp dried thyme and 1/4 tsp red chili flakes to the broth. Bring to a boil, then let it simmer for about 25 minutes. You’ll want to keep it uncovered so that the flavors can concentrate and the soup can thicken up a bit.

Serve however you like – I ate mine with crushed up crackers because I was starving by the time I was done, but the original recipe suggests topping it off with an open-faced, broiled grilled cheese sandwich. Words are not enough to express how good of an idea this is.

I recommend everyone check out Deb’s recipe  at Smitten Kitchen for exact proportions, vastly superior pictures and excellent serving suggestions.

I wish I had some goldfish crackers.