• Nothing spells childhood quite like a bowl of cream of tomato soup. Coming home after school to a hot bowl on a rainy day and dipping a crunchy, ooey, gooey grilled cheese sandwich into it, was the ultimate pairing of warmth and comfort. My mother made hers from scratch. And although I made a slight adjustment to her original recipe; by omitting the milk and substituting with organic silken tofu, I doubt you’ll notice the difference. The silken tofu blends the soup to a creamy finish without adding dairy or compromising the rich aromatic flavor of roasted garlic, tomatoes, and peppers. The added vegan pesto alla genovese ties it all together and makes a perfect marinara sauce over pasta.

Recipe Notes: Prep time 15-20 minutes. Cooking time 10-minutes. Yields 6-8 servings. Difficulty level: Easy. Nutrient values-based per serving

Ingredients:

• 4-sweet red bell peppers, seeded
• 2-lbs Roma tomatoes
• 1/2 fresh fennel bulb sliced
• 3-sm-med carrots peeled and sliced
• 8-cloves garlic peeled +2small bulbs of garlic tops sliced off
• extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
• salt & pepper

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• 4-cups vegetable stock
• 1-tbsp Aglio olio pepperoncino spice blend
• 2-tsp dry basil
• 1-tsp dry oregano
• 1/2-tsp dry marjoram
• 6-oz organic silken tofu
• 1-8oz can Tomato Paste 
• 1/2-cup vegan parmesan
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• ¼ cup vegan fresh basil pesto or 6-frozen cubes
• 1/4 chopped Italian parsley 
• 1/4-cup ground chia seeds 
• fresh basil leaves cut into julienne strips for garnish

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven @350.
2. If you can fit two sheet pans in your oven, then line both with baking foil and lightly spray with oil. If not, you may have to do them in 2-batches.
3. Halve tomatoes and peppers. Arrange peppers skin side up and tomatoes skin side down on a baking sheet, add fennel, carrots, and garlic.
4. Drizzle vegetables and garlic with olive oil, season with salt and pepper.
5. Roast for 30-40 or until pepper skins have blistered, but not charred.
6. Remove vegetables from the oven. Transfer ingredients to large bowl and cover till cooled. Squeeze roasted garlic into a bowl, discard outer shells.
7.  Transfer roasted vegetables to a blender.
8. Add 2-cups of stock, tofu, seasoning, and blend.  
9. In a 2-qt saucepan, add oil and saute garlic on medium heat.
10. Add tomato paste and lightly saute, adding remaining stock a little at a time to deglaze the pan and create a sauce.
11. Add puree and simmer on low for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
12. Add parsley and vegan parmesan.
13. Turn off heat, add pesto and stir until blended.
14. Add chia seeds and stir.
15. Garnish with julienne strips of fresh basil.  Stack 3-4 leaves of fresh basil and cigar roll them. Starting at the tip, thinly slice basil into ribbons. It can be made ahead and stored in refrigerator or freezer.