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Simple, relatively healthy soup the best antidote for holiday stress

I don’t know about you, but the only way I can keep my sanity this time of year is to keep things simple — especially in the kitchen.

Coming up with meals that are easy to make and relatively healthy is the best antidote for the holiday stress and inevitable overindulgence that’s headed our way.

And this simple Roasted Tomato Basil Soup fits the bill. The only real “work” comes from slow roasting the tomatoes, which takes an hour, but it’s an hour where you can do something else — or simply relax.

Whatever you do, don’t skip this part. Roasting the tomatoes makes them sweeter because the high heat from the oven causes the natural sugars to caramelize. This concentrates their sweetness while also evaporating moisture and reducing any bitterness.

To that end, you really do need to use Roma tomatoes because they have a naturally low moisture content. Other types would be too watery and the soup wouldn’t have that intense tomato-flavor.

The fresh basil adds that slightly spicy kick — not to mention the red and the green combination is very festive looking.

Serve this with a simple salad, warmed focaccia bread and maybe a nice glass of Sauvignon Blanc. Can’t you just feel the stress melting away?

• M. Eileen Brown is the Daily Herald’s vice president of sales and marketing and an incurable soup-a-holic.

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Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

2½ pounds Roma tomatoes, halved

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

⅓ cup carrots, chopped

4 garlic cloves, chopped

3 cups vegetable broth

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (or ½ teaspoon dried thyme)

1 cup fresh basil leaves, plus more for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the tomatoes cut side up on the baking sheet, drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 1 hour, or until the edges just are starting to shrivel.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, garlic, and ½ teaspoon salt and cook until soft, about 8 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, vegetable broth, vinegar, and thyme leaves and simmer for 20 minutes.

Let the soup cool a bit and pour the soup into a blender, working in batches if necessary. Blend until smooth. Add the basil and pulse until combined.

Season to taste, ladle into bowls, and garnish with fresh basil leaves.

Serves six.

— M. Eileen Brown

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