Roasted Tomato Soup

I could have sworn I posted my recipe for roasted tomato soup last year but after searching, it looks like I never quite got around to it.  Since that's yet another thing that came out of that infamous 3/4 bushel of tomatoes, I thought I'd take the time to post the recipe.

Ingredients:
- Enough quartered tomatoes to fill 1-2 half sheet pans (one layer each)
- Handful of fresh basil
- 1 sweet onion, roughly chopped
- 2 ribs celery, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup of sugar
- olive oil
- salt & pepper

Place all vegetables and basil on a pan and toss with a little olive oil.  If you're planning to can this soup, don't go crazy with the oil as it can cause the jars to go rancid in the pantry and it's not recommended by the National Center for Home Food Preservation.  Season liberally with salt and pepper and half the sugar.  Toss to coat evenly.

Roast in a 300 degree oven until the tomatoes start to shrivel and brown and some of the liquid is released and dries-up.  This may take up to 2 hours.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool enough to handle.

Use a food mill to puree everything and strain out the seeds and skins.  Adjust the seasoning and add more sugar as needed.  You're looking for a flavor profile much sweeter than tomato sauce (unless you like eating straight-up tomato sauce with a spoon for lunch).

Serve immediately (with grilled cheese, of course), store in a refrigerator for up to a week, or can using a pressure canner.  You'll want a processing time of 35 minutes at 10psi for up to 16 oz jars.  I like to can them in 8 or 12 oz "jelly jars".  DO NOT can using the boiling water bath method.  The addition of vegetables makes this a low-acid food, which means BWB canning won't guarantee the removal of botulism spores and those suckers are deadly!