Sunday Dinner: Roasted Tomato and Eggplant Soup Edition

I have long been a fan of the blog Serious Eats (though sometimes I do have trouble keeping up with its 15 or so posts a day) but lately it has become an integral part of my weekly menu planning.  Nick Kindelsperger’s daily Dinner Tonight column in particular has been a great source of inspiration (see pasta with bacon and corn pesto and chicken and eggplant with black bean sauce as two fairly recent examples) which is good since I have been less than thrilled with the last few issues of Everyday Food, my usual go-to for weeknight meal ideas.

Speaking of Martha, her roasted tomato and eggplant soup was the subject of one of Nick’s Dinner Tonight columns that caught my eye just last week. With its end of summer vegetables, it seemed the perfect candidate for tonight’s Sunday Dinner especially given the cool and dreary weather we had for most of the day.  It was good. I loved the mix of smooth and chunky textures this dish offered. And the cilantro added the perfect amount of brightness to the smokiness of the eggplant and curry. Served with some “bread made by hippies” (as Jason referred to the rolls I bought at yesterday’s farmers’ market) and the first Dogfish Punkin Ale of the season, it was the perfect end to a fairly relaxing weekend.

Roasted Tomato and Eggplant Soup
Adapted from Serious Eats

Ingredients:
3 pounds of Roma tomatoes, stems removed and sliced in half
½ pout of carrots, cut into ¾ inch pieces
7 cloves of garlic
1 large eggplant, diced
1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
4 TBL olive oil
Salt and Pepper
2 teaspoons curry powder
Chopped cilantro for serving

1.  Preheat the oven to 425. Line to baking sheets with aluminum foil.
2. On one baking sheet toss tomatoes, garlic, and carrots with 2 TBL olive oil, salt, and pepper. Make sure tomatoes are cut side down.
3. On the second baking sheet toss eggplant and chickpeas with remaining olive oil, curry powder, and salt and pepper.
4. Place both baking sheets into oven and roast for 45 minutes. Halfway through, stir vegetables and rotate baking sheets.
5. Remove both baking sheets from the oven. Remove skin from tomatoes. Transfer tomatoes, garlic, carrots (and all the juices from that pan) into blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Pour mixture into a large pot.
6. Add eggplant and chickpea mixture to the pot. Add 2 cups of water (more or less depending on how thick you want it to be) and bring to a boil over medium heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with cilantro and some yummy bread.