Creamy Tomato-Balsamic Soup

Creamy Tomato-Balsamic Soup

(I talked about this recipe here)

1 cup vegetable broth, divided
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 large onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, drained
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained (I like to use "fire-roasted" ones)
3/4 cup half-and-half

Preheat oven to 500.
Line a 13x9 baking dish with heavy-duty aluminum foil. (IMPORTANT - DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP - the tomatoes roasting at such a high temperature will make your pan very difficult to clean if you do not line it with foil!)
Place onions, garlic, and both cans of tomatoes in a baking dish, stirring to combine.
In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup vegetable broth, brown sugar, vinegar, and soy sauce. Pour this mixture over tomato mixture in the baking dish.
Bake at 500 for 35 minutes.
Remove from oven and pour into a blender (or pour into a big bowl and use an immersion blender, if you have one). Add remaining 1/2 cup broth and half-and-half. Blend everything to together.
If soup is too chunky for you (I like mine kind of chunky), push blended mixture through a sieve using a rubber spatula to make it smoother.
Garnish with cracked black pepper, if desired.

makes 4 1-cup servings, 3 HUs per serving.
source: Cooking Light