Instructions

1. osition a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375ºF. Place the tomatoes, onions, red bell peppers, carrots and garlic on the baking sheet. It’s okay if some of the ingredients are overlapping. Drizzle olive oil over the veggies and season generously with a big sprinkling of salt and pepper and give it all a good toss. Bake the veggies in the oven for 1 hour. You’ll want to check on the veggies around the 30-minute mark, and remove the garlic if it is browning (save to blend with the soup later.) Once the hour is up. Hit the broil setting and broil the veggies for 1-2 minutes or until they char just a tad bit on top.
2. If you’re preparing the soup right away, prepare the tortellini according to package directions when the soup is about 10-12 minutes from being done. Drizzle the tortellini in a small drizzle of oil to keep them from sticking if needed.
3. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to a large dutch oven or soup pot and allow it to heat up over medium-high heat. Add the tomato paste and allow the paste to cook and deepen in color, about 1-2 minutes. Add the vegetable stock so it stops the tomato paste from cooking and transfer the ingredients from baking tray (with juices) to the soup pot with the fresh basil and the seasonings (paprika, sugar, red pepper flakes, and thyme). Blend using an immersion stick blender until completely smooth (see notes for traditional blender method.) Bring the soup to a boil, then, lower the heat and add ½ cup of heavy cream, stir to combine. You can adjust with another ¼ cup of cream (or more) if you prefer your soups super creamy! Taste and adjust with salt and pepper as desired. Stir in the cooked tortellini or you can even portion tortellini into bowls and ladle the soup on top.