Garden Fresh Tomato & Focaccia Soup

Garden Fresh Tomato & Focaccia Soup

This soup is the perfect way to use up an abundance of tomatoes! It’s fresh and easy to alter for a spicier rendition. I love serving focaccia at dinner parties. See my garden party in this post for inspiration!

Focaccia tip! I serve this bread on top of soup two ways, fresh from the oven in slices or for a crouton-type crunch, I slice it into bite-sized squares and double-bake the squares.

Flowering Tomato Focaccia

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cup warm water
• 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
• 2 tbl olive oil + more for greasing and topping
• 4 cups OO flour
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes
• sprigs of cilantro
• freshly ground salt for topping

Directions

1. In a measuring cup, add the warm water (between 105-110F). Sprinkle the yeast on top, give it a quick stir to incorporate, and let sit until yeast shows signs that it’s active.
2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour and salt.
3. When the yeast is active and bubbly, (up to 10 minutes), pour it over the flour along with the olive oil and mix with your hands until incorporated.
4. A shaggy dough will form at this point. Knead the dough within the bowl for an additional 20-30 seconds until it becomes somewhat of a workable ball.
5. Leave the dough in the bowl, cover with a towel, and let rise for 2-2 1/2 hours or until doubled in size.
6. Grease the bottom and sides of an 8×12 non-stick baking pan (glass will work but the bread will stick to the bottom). Punch down the dough and stretch/press into the bottom of the baking pan to fill. Cover with a tea towel and let rise in a warm spot for 2-3 hours or until doubled in size.
7. Pre-heat the oven to 450F and slather a generous layer of olive oil over the the top of the dough. Add a little more olive oil to to your hands, and press your fingers deep into the dough to create the dimples.
8. Add your toppings. For the sprigs of flowering tomatoes, Lay out a general design with sprigs of cilantro, add halved cherry tomatoes for the flowers and fill in the gaps with more cilantro leaves. Sprinkle with a generous layer of fresh ground salt and bake for 20 minutes or until the top begins to brown.
9. Let cool before removing. To remove, some areas may get stuck to the bottom. I use a metal spatula to go around the edges and underneath the bread to remove in one piece.

Baked

Fresh Tomato Soup

Ingredients

• 15 vine ripe tomatoes, halved
• olive oil
• salt & pepper
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 sweet onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1/2 cup half & half
• salt to taste

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 450F and arrange the halved tomatoes on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 15 minutes to roast.
2. While the tomatoes are roasting, sautee the onion, garlic, and oregano with butter in a large soup pot until the onions are soft and translucent.
3. Add the chicken broth, roasted tomatoes, sugar, and chili powder.
4. With an immersion blender, carefully puree the mixture until creamy. Add salt and more chili powder for taste.
5. Add half & half and stir until well mixed.
6. Serve hot with pieces of focaccia.