This rich and creamy (but totally dairy-free) roasted tomato soup is made with a creamy coconut milk base, seasoned up with spicy harissa paste and served with a dollop of couscous.
You guys, I’m not complaining or anything, but I can’t believe this is May. You know, I have a little fireplace in my living room and despite some cracks I may have made about wistfully longing for cozy fire while I work from home, the truth is, most mornings I still have a fire going. It’s usually like sixty something degrees in my house when I wake, and that is not the kind of climate to get me out of my morning grumps.
But like I said, I’m not complaining. In fact, I’m kind of into this, if for no other reason, for soup. Soup is about all it takes to get me on board with most things.
And tomato soup is my soup. Isn’t tomato soup the best? Am I the only one who subsisted on canned tomato soup for several years after going vegetarian? Okay maybe I am, but it was the nineties, so cut me a break.
These days I’m all about quality tomato soup, and this is my new favorite tomato soup. It’s roasted tomato soup. It’s so good and ridiculously easy. The cook time is long, but most of that is simmer and roasting time, so totally hands off. Coconut milk makes this nice and creamy, but you actually can’t really taste the coconut. In fact, I couldn’t taste it all. Harissa gives it the perfect kick. And then there’s couscous. Is it surprising that little pasta bits swimming in tomato soup are incredibly satisfying? Probably not.
Spicy Roasted Tomato Soup with Couscous
Ingredients
- 2 lb. roma tomatoes, halved
- 2 tbsp. olive oil, divided
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 3/4 cup full-fat coconut milk, plus extra for drizzling
- 1 tbsp. harissa, or to taste, plus extra for serving
- 1 tsp. paprika
- salt and pepper to taste
For Serving
- 2 cups cooked couscous
- fresh cilantro or parsley
- extra harissa and/or coconut milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Arrange tomato halves on a parchment-lined baking dish or baking sheet with a lip (see note), cut sides down. Rub the tops with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
- Roast about 45 minutes, until the skins begin to wrinkle. Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes. Gently remove peels (they should come off very easily).
- While tomatoes cool, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté until very fragrant, 1 minute more. Add broth, coconut milk, harissa, paprika and cooked tomatoes. Raise heat and bring to a simmer. Lower heat and allow to simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes.
- Transfer mixture to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Return to the pot and bring back to a simmer. Allow to simmer about 5 minutes more, until it thickens up just a bit. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Place a dollop of cooked couscous in each bowl and ladle soup overtop. Drizzle with some extra harissa and/or coconut milk, if desired and sprinkle with parsley or cilantro. Serve.
Recipe Notes
If you use a baking sheet to roast the tomatoes, make sure it has a lip. They release quite a bit of juice, which could end up all over your oven if you don't have something to hold it in.
this sounds amazing…and, like you said, so easy! did you know that heating olive oil is actually not recommended? I use Grapeseed, coconut or avocado oils, FYI
Damn! This looks fantastic!!! Really REALLY great! I love the creamy factor that you got without using all that cream :) And it is freezing here in the Chi too…well freezing is an understatement but still…I prefer it a bit toastier :)
mmm this sounds really good. Thanks for sharing this. Simon
Thank you!