Roasted Tomato and Black Bean Soup

Yay! Another fabulous BEAN recipe! I found the original recipe in the Reader's Digest, modified it extensively, and oh yum! It was just exactly what I wanted on a chilly rainy day. This is my version.

4 medium tomatoes, quartered (I used roma, 'cause they were on sale!)
3/4 of an onion, cut into large pieces (about 1")
1 small head of garlic (the original called for twice the beans and only 3 cloves of garlic! Ha!)
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper
1 can chicken or vegetable broth
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 tsp cumin (I used curry powder, since I didn't have any cumin)
1 tsp chili powder
Splash of lime juice

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Cut the top off the head of garlic, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt (preferable sea salt), wrap in foil and stick in the oven. In a bowl, toss tomatoes and onion with some more olive oil, salt and pepper. Transfer to a baking sheet and roast until edges of onions have browned and the tomatoes have collapsed, 35 - 40 min. Stir once after 20 min.

2. Transfer roasted veggies to a large saucepan. Squeeze out the garlic cloves into the pan and add broth, beans, and spices. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 10 min.

3. Remove from heat and blend to desired smoothness (I left mine just a touch chunky and really enjoyed the texture) using an immersion blender or in batches in a regular blender.

4. Garnish with some Tabasco sauce (or, if you have none, substitute packets of Taco Bell hot sauce...seriously, it ain't easy cooking so deliciously in such an obviously deficient kitchen!), sour cream, and/or cilantro. It's also all kinds of spectacular with tortilla chips.