After a few tomato-heavy meals earlier in the week, I found myself with a pile of leftovers that needed to be used up. I love the challenge of building a meal around what I already have. So when I came across a roasted garlic tomato soup with halloumi croutons recipe on TikTok, it felt like perfect timing. I even had a leftover pepper to use in this recipe! I also had some leftover heavy cream from another meal, so I decided to swap it in instead of the coconut milk the recipe called for.
What really sold me on this recipe was the halloumi croutons. I absolutely love halloumi, but I had never thought to use it as a soup topping before.
The recipe itself was fairly simple. I added the tomatoes, garlic, and pepper to a pan and roasted everything until soft and caramelized. Then I blended it all with vegetable broth. It was easy overall, though I will say the roasting took quite a bit longer than the recipe claimed. That often happens to me when I cook from online recipes. I always factor in extra cooking time.
One of my favorite parts of this meal was how vibrant everything looked before it went in the blender. It felt good knowing the soup was loaded with vegetables. After blending, it turned into a silky, rich tomato base that smelled incredible.
The halloumi was an absolute game-changer. It added texture, saltiness, and something substantial to the bowl. I love a soup that has something in it and not just liquid. The crispy cheese pieces were the perfect flavor boost to the tomato base. To round everything out, I made some garlic bread for dipping, which turned out to be the perfect finishing touch.
History of Tomato Soup
I was blown away to learn that the tomato is actually a berry and originally comes from South America. Tomatoes were brought to Europe by the Spanish in the 16th century. When they first arrived, they were used more for decoration. The Europeans were afraid of tomatoes because they were part of the nightshade family. I was surprised to learn that tomatoes have not actually been in Italian cuisine for as long as I assumed. They have always seemed central to Italian cuisine.
Tomato soup itself became popular in the 19th century during the Industrial Revolution, when advances in agriculture, transportation, and food preservation made it more accessible. In 1897, Campbell’s developed condensed canned soup, and tomato was one of its first and most popular varieties. Since then, tomato soup has become a true household staple.