Roasted Garlic, Tomato and Black Bean Soup Recipe

If you are like me, you are prepping for the big day.

By big day I mean Thanksgiving. By prepping I mean keeping a close eye on healthy eating.

All this leads to one thing in my kitchen - soup. I have loads of frozen tomatoes waiting to be used, but chili wasn't sounding right. I needed something more exciting than the basic tomato soup, too.

I've come to realize that a head of creamy, sweet roasted garlic makes just about everything better. This soup is no exception. Along with the garlic, I added some black beans for texture and protein.

This soup is sweet, rich and hearty all at the same time. I used about a gallon bag full of mixed frozen tomatoes from the garden. Skin on, whole tomatoes. It all gets blended by the immersion blender so leaving everything intact isn't a problem for me. You can use whatever you have on hand - frozen, fresh, canned, whole, puree - it will all ultimately result in a tasty soup!

Roasted Garlic, Tomato and Black Bean Soup Recipe

1 head garlic
Olive oil
~ 8 cups frozen whole tomatoes, thawed
2 tbsp dried basil
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp mascavo or raw sugar
1 1/2 cups cooked black beans, rinsed and drained

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Tear off about a 4x4 inch square of aluminum foil. Cut off the top of the full head of garlic removing just enough so that all the cloves are exposed. Place the garlic in the center of the foil, cut side up. Drizzle with about a teaspoon of olive oil. Wrap the foil around the garlic and roast for about 30 minutes or until soft. Remove from the the oven and allow to cool.

While the garlic is roasted, begin to prepare the soup. Pour any excess water off of the thawed tomatoes. Place the tomatoes in a large soup pot and heat to medium-high. Allow the tomatoes to cook down, crushing them with a spoon or potato masher as they cook, for about 15 minutes. Remove any foam that rises to the top, if desired.

Stir in the basil, red pepper, salt and sugar. Unwrap the garlic and squeeze all of the roasted cloves into a dish. I think using your hands is the easiest. Be sure to separate out any skin and leave only the soft flesh. Add the garlic to the soup. Remove from the heat.

Use an immersion blender to blend the soup and puree the tomatoes. You can also transfer it in batches to a blender to do this. Once everything is smooth simmer over medium heat for 5 more minutes and let the soup thicken.

Finally stir in the black beans and heat through. Serve sprinkled with grated Parmesan cheese and croutons if desired. Makes about 4 servings.