Probably the best soup ever

OK, if you're up for an adventure in soup making, this post will satisfy your ambitions and journey in creating probably the best soup ever. On a cold night when the temperature outside dips below -30 Celsius , the kids are all tucked in for the night and your favorite show is about to start, what better way to enjoy the evening than with a bowl of roasted tomato and basil soup with goat cheese, roasted garlic and lemon zest.

The real inspiration for the soup came from my Miracle-Gro AeroGarden Harvest Elite. We are growing a variety of herbs over the winter. The one that is growing the fastest is our basil plant. Take a look...

This AeroGarden is amazing. We used to have planted pots of herbs on our counter, but we found that not only was it hard to grow without proper lighting but the soil attracted a variety of little critters making it unruly. The AeroGarden doesn't use soil, only water and nutrients (AKA hydroponics). It keeps track of when you need to add both. This is our first endeavor using this and so far we love it.

Because, there is so much basil growing and I had a whole bushel in the fridge that needed to be used up I wanted to create a soup recipe that included basil. As a matter of fact I also had a bunch of Kumato tomatoes that needed to be eaten. It was a couple days after New Years. We spent New Years eve at our friends house and they had roasted a leg of lamb for dinner. Instead of throwing out the bone, I brought it home the next day to make bone broth. So here we go!

Day 1 - Bone Broth

The first day was making the bone broth. I placed the lamb bone in a pan, painted it with tomato paste and roasted it for a couple hours at 375. I then placed the bone into a large pot with a bunch of odds and sods of various vegetables (I keep them in a zip-locked bag in the freezer for just such an occasion). This could be the ends of corn, stems of celery, bits of onion or carrot shavings.

I filled the pot with water and brought it to a boil. Once boiling I dropped it back down to a simmer overnight (approximately 8 hours). In the morning I finely strained out the liquid broth from all the vegetables and bone, several times.

The beauty of living in the coldest capital in the world, is during the winter I can use my back patio as a fridge and freezer! To help cool the broth down I covered the pot and put it outside for several hours. This helps separate the broth and any fat. Once separated, I could skim the fat off the broth and keep the broth in the fridge until I was ready for soup.

Day 2 - Soup

OK, I've got the broth, a bunch of basil and a pound of tomatoes...time for some soup.

Here's how I put it together:

In a roasting pan I diced and roasted 8 Kumata tomatoes and a bunch of tiny multi-colored heirloom mini tomatoes I had in the fridge along with 10 cloves of peeled, smashed garlic. I drizzled it with olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt. I roasted it for about 25 minutes at 425. After it finished roasting I brought it out of the oven and let it come to room temperature.

In a dutch oven I added about 2 tablespoons of olive oil, a diced whole yellow onion, seeded chopped jalapeno, diced orange pepper, zest from 2 lemons, juice of 1 lemon, tablespoon of agave nectar, and 6 mini potatoes sliced. while cooking I continuously added salt to taste as well as a bottle of beer to help deglaze (and add pure deliciousness of course).

After all the ingredients were added I let it crisp up again. I added about 6 cups of the bone broth and let it come to a boil. After, I brought it back to a simmer for about 40 minutes. I added 3 or 4 stems of chopped basil and then let it simmer for another 30 minutes.

While simmering, I cut a quarter inch from a brick of goat cheese and put it outside. I finely chopped another handful of basil. I also quickly toasted a quarter cup of flax seeds.

Interesting tidbit: I usually keep a container of toasted seeds on hand in the freezer to help accent many of my dishes.

After simmering, I pureed the soup with an immersion blender and brought it back to a simmer before serving. After serving the soup in our bowls, I brought the goat cheese in from outside (was nice and frozen!) and shaved it with a carrot peeler into each bowl. I then added the chopped basil, a sprinkle of toasted flax seeds and a pinch of Kosher salt.

Serve and enjoy! When we had it, my husband and I both savored each mouthful and proclaimed it one of the best soups I have ever made and we have ever tried. The depth of flavors was intense and out of this world. I hope you share in the same experience! Enjoy!

Cheers!

Wendy