Roasted Tomato Soup with Figs

If you have ever made your own tomato soup, then you already know the flavor of homemade tomato soup makes the stuff from the can, the jar, or the box, taste like a bad batch. The only thing standing between you and fine tomato soup is the time it requires. This method is a quick and easy solution to that time problem — use roasted tomato sauce as a base.

In another post we give detail on how to preserve your bumper crop of tomatoes by making a roasted tomato sauce in your crock pot or oven. The flavor of this sauce is so rich you want to just eat it by the spoonful right out of the pot. It is a small step to turn the sauce into soup.

A roasted tomato base leaves room for a soup that is creamy, spicy, or even sweet, like this recipe. Inspired by a similar recipe in Moro East by Sam and Sam Clark, we were able to save several steps and considerable time by starting with our tomato sauce base. If you read the original recipe you will discover that Sam and Sam are making a similar sauce.

If you are at the end of the sauce-making process and want a quick meal, this one will seem like a miracle. In twenty minutes you will be at the table dining on a most delectable soup. The Clarks serve tomato soup with figs in August when both ingredients are at peak. We recommend the same thing.

Roasted Tomato Soup with Figs Ingredients

• 2 cups roasted tomato sauce
• 6 medium garden tomatoes, washed, stemmed, quartered
• 4 dried figs or dates, cut into small pieces
• 1 tablespoon cumin seed
• 5 ripe figs in 1/2 inch dice
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

Roasted Tomato Soup with Figs Steps

1. Place the roasted tomato sauce into a medium-sized pot.
2. Place the tomatoes in a blender or food processor. Pulse to chop. Add the tomatoes to the pot.
3. Add the cut up figs or dates to the pot and bring the soup to a simmer. Allow to simmer for about 20 minutes to blend the flavors.
4. In the meantime, cut up the fresh figs.
5. Toast the cumin in a dry skillet for about 2 minutes. Be careful to not burn the seed. Toasting releases a flavor from the cumin that really complements this soup. Allow the seed to cool for a few minutes and then run it through a spice grinder.
6. Divide the figs between four bowls, reserving a few fig pieces for garnish.
7. Taste the soup for salt and pepper. Make any necessary adjustments.
8. Ladle the soup into the bowls over the figs. Garnish with fig slices. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with the crushed cumin.
9. Serve this soup hot, warm, or at room temperature. The unexpected bites of sweet fig bring this soup alive and the cumin is a perfect finishing note.

If you have any soup leftover, you can freeze it without the fresh fig. The texture of the fig changes and will not be the same experience as the pre-frozen soup.