Spiderweb Soup And Halloween Croutons Recipe

Spiderweb Soup And Halloween Croutons Recipe Instructions

Ingredients

• 6 medium tomatoes
• 3 medium carrots
• 1 ½ tbsp. Sugar
• 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 4-½ cups vegetable broth
• ¼ tsp. cinnamon
• ½ tbsp. ginger powder
• ¼ tsp. ground cloves
• 8 slices white bread
• 2 tbsp. Chopped fresh herbs (oregano, thyme, basil and rosemary)
• 2 tbsp. Olive oil
• 16 peppercorns (pink if available)
• 7 oz. crème fraiche
• Special equipment: Halloween-themed cookie cutters, piping bag

Directions

1. Heat oven to 300 F. 
2. With sharp knife, score an X on the smooth end of the tomatoes. Drop in boiling water for about ½ minute. 
3. Remove from fire and transfer to cold water, then carefully remove the skin. 
4. Cut into 6 wedges and remove the seeds. 
5. Arrange in a baking pan, sprinkle the sugar and drizzle or brush with olive oil, then bake for about 45 minutes. Reserve. 
6. In medium saucepan, boil the broth. Peel the carrots and dice, and then cook in the broth, boiling, until tender – about 15 to 20 minutes. 
7. To the same pan add the baked tomatoes, and using a hand blender (alternatively, wait till it cools down and process in a regular blender), adding the rest of the vegetable broth as needed to get the desired texture. 
8. Season with spices, salt and pepper.  Transfer to individual bowls. 
9. Fill your piping bag with crème fraiche, then slowly and carefully swirl several circles spiraling over the surface of each soup. Using a toothpick, drag it from the center of the spirals towards the edges of the soup, creating a web. Reserve warm.
10. Cut the bread using the Halloween-themed cookie cutters. Arrange in a baking sheet and bake at 350 F until golden. Remove from oven. Mix 2 tbsp. of olive oil with the fresh herbs, and brush the mix lightly over the croutons.
11. Serve the soup with a few ghoulish croutons and if you’re using ghost cutters, like we did, finish off with peppercorns as eyes.