roasted eggplant soup

the eggplants in the garden are ripening all at once and we are growing weary of eggplant parmesan.  my sister (thanks alisa) came to the rescue with a recipe for this gorgeous roasted eggplant soup which i made for dinner tonight and would love to share with you.  it is delicious!  i am so happy today to be posting about simple and beautiful things like soup.  our routine, home and neighborhood are looking more familiar after the flood storms and everyone is on the mend.  our dear friends down the road still have far to go in their home recovery and rebuild but they are triumphantly moving onto the drying out stage now that everything (including all floors and drywall) has been cleared out in their home's bottom story - they are down to the house's bare bones.  but, it only gets better from here!

roasted eggplant soup

from smitten kitchen

serves 4

3 medium tomatoes, halved

1 large eggplant (about 1 1/2 pounds or 3 small), halved lengthwise

1 small onion, halved (eh, mine was medium)

6 large garlic cloves, peeled

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme or 1 tsp. dried 

4 cups chicken stock or vegetable broth

1/4 cup heavy cream (yum, i used way more or skip altogether if you'd like)

3/4 cup crumbled goat cheese (i actually used feta)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Arrange tomatoes, eggplant, onion and garlic on a large baking sheet. Brush vegetables with oil then roast them for 45 minutes (rescue garlic after 20 mins or it will burn). Remove from oven and scoop eggplant from skin into a heavy, large saucepan or soup pot.  Add the rest of the vegetables, the thyme and the chicken or vegetable stock and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.  Cook until onion is very tender, about 45 minutes or more.  

Working in batches, puree soup in blender or use an immersion blender, until it is as smooth as you'd like it to be.  Back in the pot, add the cream and bring the soup back to a simmer.  Season with salt and pepper.  Serve in four bowls, sprinkled with goat or feta cheese.