Roasted Tomato, Garlic, and Eggplant Soup
Roasted Tomato, Garlic, and Eggplant Soup- Celebrating the transition from summer to fall with this comforting soup made from end of summer produce.
September 19, 2024 by Nicole Collins
Today, we’re making Roasted Tomato, Garlic, and Eggplant Soup!
Now if you know me in real life, you may be very surprised to see this recipe today. Yes, it’s me. And yes, I’m ok. I’m not posting this recipe under any duress.
The truth of the matter is, I don’t like tomato soup. I never have. The canned stuff reminds me of spaghettios without the noodles. And, the homemade stuff feels like I’m just drinking marinara sauce. I love fresh tomatoes, but I can be very funny about cooked tomatoey things. And, drinking marinara sauce is not my idea of a good time.
But, I saw a similar soup on the menu at work a couple weeks ago, and I just couldn’t stop thinking about it. I love eggplant and I love roasted garlic, so I was choosing to ignore the tomato part of the soup. I didn’t taste test the soup at work, but I knew I needed to make my own version myself. I was counting on that eggplant doing something magical, and I was right! So, here we are.
The beauty of this soup is that there’s not much to do. Roast the produce, blend it up, add some cheese…DONE. It’s that simple! So, we’re going to start by tossing some whole campari tomatoes, some hunks of eggplant, and a quartered onion on a baking sheet. You want to roughly chop the eggplant so that it’s about the same size as the tomatoes. It doesn’t have to be perfect.
From there, we’ll very simply season everything with some salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and a drizzle of olive oil. Then, we’ll add in a little brown sugar to balance out the acidity from the tomatoes. Toss everything together until our veggies are coated. (Yes, I know that both eggplant and tomatoes are actually fruit, but somehow this concept doesn’t quite feel the same if we’re talking about making fruit soup.) Then, we’ll nestle in a whole bulb of garlic right into the center of the pan. We want to cut the top off of the garlic so the cloves are just exposed, then we’ll give the garlic a baby drizzle of olive oil too to help it roast.
Once the veggies have some nice color and have started to brown, we’re going to carefully transfer everything to a blender. Toss the tomatoes, eggplant, and onions in first. Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their skin. Then, add in all of the beautiful juice left behind on the pan too. We’ll add some chicken stock to help it blend, and hit the button. Once the soup is mostly blended, we’ll add in a handful of basil leaves, blend again until the soup reaches the consistency you like, and transfer the blended soup to a pot.
The final step is to melt in a little freshly grated parmesan cheese while making sure the soup is heated through to the temperature you like. Give it a taste, add and extra pinch of salt and pepper if you’d like (I did), and that’s soup! SO EASY.
Here’s what I love about this soup. On the surface, it’s the classic tomato soup that everyone (but me) knows and loves. But as you keep enjoying bites, you can really taste that subtle sweet fruitiness from the eggplant. The eggplant also makes this soup feel creamy and velvety without having to add a drop of heavy cream. It’s bright and vibrant, but also hearty and comforting. And just like the OG tomato soup, it’s the perfect dipping partner for a nice gooey grilled cheese.
The fact that I found myself craving this soup is a testament all on its own. I feel like I can finally kinda join the tomato soup lover’s club…I just need all the eggplant and garlic to come with me!
Ok, everyone! Whether I’d like to admit it or not, fall is here. There’s no denying it. So, we can SLOWLY start transitioning out of summer mode and into comfort mode. I’m also gonna go ahead and start my countdown to summer. But, I’ll make sure to keep our tummies happy in the meantime while we wait.
I hope you guys enjoy! And, let’s eat!
Roasted Tomato, Garlic, and Eggplant Soup
Serves: 4 Print
Ingredients:
2 lbs Campari tomatoes
1 medium eggplant (about 1 lb), roughly chopped
1 medium yellow onion, quartered
2 tbsp olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
¼ tsp pepper, plus more to taste
1 bulb garlic, top 1/3 cut off to expose the garlic cloves
2 cups chicken stock
10 basil leaves
¼ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Add tomatoes, eggplant, onion, olive oil, brown sugar, Italian seasoning, 1 tsp salt, and ¼ tsp pepper to the baking sheet. Toss well to completely coat the veggies in the seasonings. Take garlic bulb, and nestle into the center of the baking sheet. Drizzle with just enough olive oil to cover the garlic. Roast for 40 mins until the veggies start to brown.
Carefully transfer tomatoes, eggplant, and onion to a blender along with any juices from the pan. Squeeze the garlic cloves out of the skin into the blender. Add chicken stock, and blend until smooth. Add basil leaves, and blend again until the soup reaches your desired consistency.
Add soup to a medium sized pot along with grated parm. Taste for seasoning, and add a pinch of salt and pepper, if needed. Heat the soup over medium high heat until warmed through and the cheese is melted. Enjoy!
Recipe notes:
*Chop the eggplant to roughly the same size as the tomatoes.
*I like to make chicken stock using 1 tsp Better than Bouillon roasted chicken paste and 2 cups boiling water. You could also use veggie stock to make this vegetarian.
*Yes, I know that both tomatoes and eggplant are fruit. But, would you feel the same about eating fruit soup?
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