Vegan Tomato Bisque

Resolution one-vegan-supper a week continues. This week’s meal centered around the above bowl of lusciously “creamy” tomato bisque. Once again, I owe the dreamy texture to cashew cream, the same stuff I used to make my recent chick pea curry taste like heaven. Local food purists will probably object to a big bowl of out-of-season produce. I do try to eat local but I don’t get crazy about it, especially when Roma tomatoes are on sale at the supermarket for $1 a pound.

I’m a lover of local-grown in season tomatoes. The ripe, delicate heirloom varieties are usually the culinary highlight of my summer. Those jewels are best enjoyed raw with a sprinkle of coarse salt. These supermarket bargains look kind of pretty, but they were mealy, flavorless, and hard as blushing rocks. There’s only one option with tomatoes like these–slow roast them to concentrate what little flavor they have. It’s the only way I know of to make these ersatz tomatoes taste like the genuine article.

Vegan Tomato Bisque

Serves 4 to 6

12 Roma tomatoes (about 3 3/4 pounds), stemmed and halved
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
5 garlic cloves, peeled
3 medium onions (about 1 pound), halved and sliced into 1/4-inch slices
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight or covered with water, brought to a boil and soaked for an hour, drained
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a large soup pot or saute pan with a lid, combine the tomatoes, 2 teaspoons of the salt, the red pepper flakes, thyme, and oregano, the garlic, and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Arrange the tomatoes so they are all cut-side down.

Roast, uncovered for two to three hours, until the tomatoes are tender and the skin has cracked and the garlic is good and soft. Longer is better, but I ran out of time yesterday and pulled them after two hours and everything was peachy keen.

Meanwhile, add the onions, the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt to a large skillet, and caramelize the onions as I describe here.

When they are done, add two tablespoons of tomato paste and cook, stirring often, while the paste caramelizes a bit, about 3 minutes. The bottom of the pan should be covered with browned bits of onions and tomato paste. Add 2 1/2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to dislodge the bits.

Transfer the large pot with the cooked tomatoes to the stove top, and pluck off as many tomato skins as you can. Pour the onion-tomato paste-water mixture into the pot and bring this mixture to a simmer for about 10 minutes, just to encourage the flavors to mingle. While it bubbles, put the soaked cashews in a blender with 1/2 cup of fresh water and puree until perfectly smooth. Remove the cashew cream from the blender and set aside.

Working in batches, puree the the tomato mixture until smooth. Once all the soup has been pureed, whisk in the cashew cream. Return to the burner over medium heat until hot; stir in the chopped basil and serve, with a side of really good bread. We had homemade foccacia. I’ll post that recipe later if I decide that Cook’s Illustrated might not come to get me.

You’ll be amazed how fast this soup disappears: