3tablespoonshard cheese such as Parmigiana Romano, or Asiago
2cupscream or half-and-half
Crusty bread, for serving
Instructions
Separate head of garlic into separate cloves, don’t peel but rub off papery bits. Place cloves on piece of foil, drizzle olive oil over them, wrap and place in oven at 250° F for one hour.
In a medium saucepan, cook onions, celery, and carrot in the butter on low for 10 minutes or until softened. Add tomatoes, sugar and basil and bacon to pot.
Bring to a boil and then simmer, covered, for half an hour.
Take roasted garlic out of oven, peel, then add to tomato mixture as many cloves as you like. (I used 10, but I not only love garlic but wanted its healing power to make me feel better.) Stir in the cheese.
Simmer, covered for another half hour. Turn off heat and let cool for 15 minutes. Puree tomato mixture until smooth. Stir in the cream. (Can use more than 2 cups for a thinner soup.) Serve with crusty bread (and if you don’t feel well, you can spread more roasted garlic on the bread).