Roast Tomato Soup With Basil And Prosciutto

Total Time: 2 hrs 20 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 2 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 2 lbs vine-ripened tomatoes
• 1 -2 tablespoon raw sugar
• sea salt
• fresh ground black pepper
• 2 onions, finely diced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 1 (14 ounce) can whole peeled roma tomatoes (or crushed tomatoes)
• 1 cup wine
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 1 -2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup fresh basil leaf
• 1 cup cream
• 6 -8 slices prosciutto, cut wafer-thin
• 6 basil leaves, finely sliced (extra)

Recipe

• 1 preheat the oven to 300°f.
• 2 core the tomatoes - use the tip of a sharp paring knife to make a shallow cut all around the stem end, and then pop out the core.
• 3 cut the tomato into halves if small, or quarters if large.
• 4 place the tomatoes on a roasting tray, with cut sides facing up.
• 5 sprinkle with raw sugar, salt and pepper.
• 6 bake in the oven for 1 hour, checking from time to time that they are not burning.
• 7 remove and set aside.
• 8 heat the olive oil in a large, heavy based pan.
• 9 gently saute the onions and garlic until onions are soft and translucent.
• 10 add the roasted tomatoes with all the juices from the baking tray, the tinned tomatoes and their juice, wine, stock and 1 teaspoon sugar.
• 11 bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour.
• 12 remove from heat and add basil leaves, keeping four to six aside for garnish.
• 13 meanwhile, heat oven to 390f in preparation for crisping the proscuitto.
• 14 blend the soup with a stick blender or food processor and then pass through a fine sieve.
• 15 check for seasoning and, if desired add another teaspoon of sugar and pepper to taste - you probably won't need to add any salt as the proscuitto is quite salty already (see below).
• 16 place the sliced prosciutto on a cake rack and set on an oven tray.
• 17 cook the proscuitto for 5-8 minutes or until crisp.
• 18 remove from oven, cool on rack and crumble into pieces.
• 19 just before serving, bring the soup to a simmer, add the cream and heat through gently.
• 20 pour the hot soup into 6 shallow bowls.
• 21 sprinkle with crispy prosciutto and sliced basil, and serve.