Roasted red pepper and tomato soup

When Troy and I first moved to Los Angeles, we discovered the awesomeness of living within biking distance to a Trader Joes.  One of my favorite things to purchase from TJ's was their roasted red pepper and tomato soup.  Delicious!

I set about to recreate it last weekend.  I think I did a pretty decent job, and I'm really looking forward to this come wintertime when I need some warming up.

Before we get started, this is not something I canned.  I couldn't find a trusted recipe for it, and I didn't want to chance it.  I wanted to make it how I wanted to make it, and so this is something you're going to have to freeze. 

Knock Off of Trader Joe's Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup
Wide-mouth quart canning jars
A buttload of tomatoes (doesn't matter what kind)
Salt
Olive Oil
2 small heads of garlic
2 red peppers, preferably organic

1) Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

2) Rinse your tomatoes, hull them (see this recipe for a how to), and slice in half.  Place the cut side half up in a lasagna pan.  Add your sliced red peppers and garlic as well.  Sprinkle with salt, and drizzle with olive oil.  Roast for 1 hour.

3) You can do various things at this point.  You can put them in a deep pot and use an immersion blender.  Or, you can put them in a blender (you'll need to make multiple batches to do this), and then run it through a sieve.  Kinda like this.

I use my foodmill that I've had for almost 7 years and love fiercely!  You put the tomatoes in the top:

Juice/sauce comes out here:

And the seeds and peels come out here:

Pour in to your wide-mouth canning jars, and keep at least 1 inch of head space.  The soup will expand in the freezer and you don't want it to overflow, and/or explode.

Studies have proven that food tastes better if you make it while watching Project Runway on Hulu.  It's a fact.

Now, when I go to make this for dinner, I'll thaw it out (obvs), then melt some butter and mix in some flour to make a roux (see directions here).  Add a pinch of sugar, and some salt, and you're all set. Then add the thawed soup.  Serve with grilled cheese sandwiches, or crusty no knead dutch oven bread and butter.

Some night in winter, I'll be able to eat this and be transferred back to Los Angeles with just a bite.  It's Los Angeles, without the cost of living and smog.  And the homeless guy who when I offered him my sandwich on the Santa Monica beach, he asked me if the tuna was dolphin-safe, and was the mayo vegan.

It's a win win.