Roasted Tomato Soup

Autumn is a time when the last of the tomatoes in from the garden are harvested, and hung in the shop to continue their ripening process. We end up with a beautiful assortment of tomato varieties. Today I decided to make  Roasted Fall Tomato Soup from Vegetable Soups cookbook by Deborah Madison. The soup was delicious!  Here is the recipe:

3 TBS olive oil
1 onion, sliced
3 lbs ripe late-summer or black-skinned tomatoes, rinsed and halved
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 TBS agave syrup or brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, slivered
1 pinch saffron threads
1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed well in cool water
1 to 2 tsp curry powder, to taste

To finish:
1/2 cup yogurt, whisked until smooth
Minced serrano or jalapeno chili
Chopped cilantro

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush some of the oil over a 9X13 inch baking dish, scatter the onion over that, then add the tomatoes, cut side up.  Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt, plenty of pepper, and the syrup.  Slip the garlic into the tomatoes.  Drizzle with the remaining oil and bake for 1 hour.

2. Bring 1 cup of water to a boil with the saffron and 1/4 tsp salt.  Add the quinoa, reduce the heat to low, then cover and cook until the grains have absorbed the water and the germ is visible, about 15 minutes.  Set aside.

3. Puree the tomatoes with their juices, then pass them through a good mill or strainer.  Stir in the curry powder, holding back a little is the soup is going to stand for a day. Season with more salt and syrup if needed.

4. Ladle the soup into bowls, divide the quinoa among them, swirl in a spoonful of yogurt, and garnish with the mince child and/or cilantro.