1carrot (med-large)sliced into quarter-inch pieces
4tablespoonsolive oil
½teaspoonkosher salt
½teaspooncoarse ground black pepperdecrease to ¼ teaspoon if using fine ground pepper
5.3ouncesBoursin Cheese1 standard package
10-12fresh basil leaves, or 1 teaspoon dried basil
1teaspoonbalsamic vinegar
24-32ozbeef brothmay sub chicken or vegetable broth
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425℉. Line a standard rimmed baking sheet (18x13-ish) with foil or parchment paper and set aside.
Quarter tomatoes, removing stems and tough cores if needed. Everything will be blended at the end so no need to be meticulous. If the cores are small and softer, I don't even worry about removing that part.
Use your fingers to gently press out pulpy liquid and seeds from center of tomatoes, discarding pulp as you go. Place tomatoes in a large bowl.
Chop onion into roughly 1" pieces, add to bowl along with the garlic and sliced carrot.
Add olive oil, salt, and pepper to bowl and mix well to coat everything. (I like to use clean hands).
Transfer tomato mixture to baking sheet, spreading everything out into a single layer and placing tomatoes skin-side down.
Cook for 50-60 minutes (or slightly longer if needed and you've got time) until the tomatoes start to look a little shriveled and some have a slight char to the edges. Timing will vary based on the size of your cuts and your individual oven. I look for those visual cues, usually right around 60 minutes, but give it a little longer if it needs it.
Remove pan from oven. Use a rubber spatula to scrape cooked veggies, oil, and browned bits from pan into the center of the pan. Lift up the parchment and use it to transfer mixture to the blender, scraping everything in.
Note: For the next step, you'll see a range in the amount of broth called for. I always make this recipe with 3 cups of broth because I like my soup nice and thick. Feel free to add 4 cups (32 oz) if you'd like to thin it out just a bit, or if you are using a standard carton of broth and prefer to use the whole carton out of convenience.
Add Boursin cheese, basil, and balsamic to blender and add enough of the broth to be able to process mixture. Most blenders will be able to accomodate all the broth. For smaller blenders, you may need to just add enough to puree the vegetable mixture smoothly and add the remaining broth in the next step.
Process mixture until smooth. Sample and add more salt and pepper to taste, if needed.
Pour soup into a pot on the stove to heat to desired temperature and keep warm.