Roasted Tomato and Chicken Soup with Broiled Aged Swiss & Fresh Mozzarella

Here is my first recipe for the Tomato Throwdown between Edible Love and Just for Cooking. Both Mary Kay and I have a joint page on Facebook!! It is called:

Just for Cooking & Edible Love (Two Smart Women - Two Delicious Blogs!)

 

(If you have not seen it, please stop by and "Like" our community page)　

         

This is a great recipe and is along the lines of french onion soup....MMMM!!

Ingredients:

Soup

3 pounds plum tomatoes, about 8 large, halved lengthwise
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small garlic bulb, unpeeled
1/2 large yellow onion, cut in a small dice
2 tbsp. torn fresh basil leaves
1 tsp. of sugar
3 cups beef stock
1 cup of red wine (merlot or pinot noir)
pinch of dried crushed red pepper
4 large chicken thighs
kosher salt
black pepper

 Crouton and Cheese

4 1-inch slices of crusty Ciabatta bread, toasted until hard and lightly buttered on one sideAged Swiss cheese (you can also use grated gruyere)
Fresh mozzarella

Preparation:

Soup

Preheat oven to 400°F. Wrap garlic bulb in foil. Place tomatoes, cut side up, on large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle generously with kosher salt and pepper. Drizzle tomatoes with olive oil. Add garlic package to the baking sheet. Roast until tomatoes are brown and tender, about 1 hour. Cool slightly.
At the same time season the chicken generously with kosher salt, black pepper and garlic powder. Roast for 1 hour. Let cool and then remove the skin and discard (it’s all fat) then remove all the meat from the bone in chunks and put aside.Unwrap garlic packet and slice off the top and squeeze out the garlic. Put the garlic, tomatoes and any accumulated juices in the food processor. Pulse the machine until tomatoes are a chunky puree (if you prefer it smooth pulse a few more times, to your desired consistency). In a medium stock pot add a tbsp of olive oil and onion and cook until tender about 2 minutes. Transfer the pureed tomatoes to the pot and add chicken, basil, crushed red pepper, sugar, stock and wine and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and adjust seasonings to taste.

Preheat your broiler. Arrange four ovenproof soup bowls on a parchment lined baking sheet. Place toast slices in each bowl, buttered side up. Place a slice of fresh mozzarella on top of the toast, then 2 to 3 slices of aged swiss (let the slices hang over the edge). Place soups under the heating element for a minute or two or until the cheese is melted and golden bubbly.