Market Basket had plum tomatoes for 99 cents and it was a raw day so………Most think of the instant pot recipe as quick and easy, throw it in and press a few buttons and walk away. This is one of my favorite soups and I figure I would try it in the Instant Pot but the prep  like roasting the tomatoes does take some time.  I suppose one could buy some roasted tomatoes to skip that step there are even some smoked fired roasted tomatoes would also save about 40 or so minutes.  I also did my own smoked tomatoes last summer and here is the stove top recipe basically the same.

Anyway I choose the oven this day to roast my tomatoes.

Ingredients

• 3 pounds ripe plum tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons good olive oil
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups chopped yellow onions – about 2 onions
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• A good pinch of crushed red pepper flakes about 1/4 teaspoon
• 1 (28-ounce) canned whole plum tomatoes, with their juice
• 4 cups fresh basil leaves packed (save small amount for garnish)
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1 quart chicken or vegetable stock

Optional

• Add a red pepper sliced in half and seeded and white vein removed or two to the tomatoes while roasting
• 3-4 cups fresh Cilantro or mix of both basil and cilantro.
• Fresh or frozen corn (use if using cilantro the combo is great)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Toss together the tomatoes, 1/4 cup olive oil, salt, and pepper I also add a small amount of dried basil or even crushed dried rosemary. Spread the tomatoes in 1 layer on a baking sheet, drizzle any left oil mixture and roast for 45-55 minutes. I like them to get caramelized.

In the instant pot, sauté the onions with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the butter and red pepper flakes for 10 minutes, until the onions start to brown then add and garlic for about 30 seconds . You’ll kow when you get that great garlic smell. Add the canned tomatoes, basil and or cilantro, thyme, and chicken stock. Add the oven-roasted tomatoes, including the liquid on the baking sheet. Seal and press soup button it defaulted to 30 minutes. I was going to try it with venting but I screwed up so that will be next time.

Pass through a food mill fitted with the coarsest blade. Taste for seasonings.  ou can add corn at this point if you want frozen or fresh. Chiffonade small amount of the basil and sprinkle over soup when served. Serve hot or cold. Alternatively you can put in blender instead of food mill.

Chiffonade :Arrange the leaves in a stack, roll them up cigar-style, and slice the roll as thinly as you can. The word for this technique (should you care to brush up on your French while you slice) is chiffonade (shihf-uh-NAHD).