Tomatoes, in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors nestle in baskets on the kitchen counter all summer long for eating out-of-hand, slicing for sandwiches, dicing for salads. When their ripeness starts to get away from me, I line up halved tomatoes on baking sheets for roasting into concentrated goodness.
Roasted tomatoes, and their cousins, green tomatillos, prove a handy staple for turning out quick soups, sauces and salsas. They can be refrigerated for several days or frozen for months later use.
For a bold-flavored cold or hot tomato soup, season ripe, red tomatoes with salt, pepper, thyme and a little smoked paprika before roasting. Be sure to line the baking sheet with foil to capture all of the flavorful juices to add to the soup. Make a vegetarian soup by using vegetable stock or tomato juice….