Recipe

An Entertaining Pro’s Easy, Elegant Roasted Tomato Soup

Name: Roasted Tomato and Red Onion Soup
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Southern
Ingredients: 8 tomatoes, halved; 2 red onions, sliced; 3 garlic cloves, peeled but left whole; 3 tbsp. olive oil; 3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar; 2 cups stock of your choice, warmed; Salt and pepper; Heavy cream, optional; Chopped herbs, optional

From India Hicks’s new book, the perfect first course for your next gathering

Recipe by Claire Wiliams

September 3, 2026

Photo: Olivia Darnell

In her eponymous new book, India Hicks: Entertaining, with a Side of Chaos, the British tastemaker shares the secret combination behind her effortlessly stylish gatherings: her longtime home chef and “top banana,” Claire Williams, and her own flair for setting a table. “On particularly optimistic days I will say to Claire, ‘Let’s keep it simple. Just going to be a very quick lunch.’ She will then, in what can only be described as the flash of a pan, produce a soup, a salad, and a little extra,” Hicks writes.

When you’re planning a “quick lunch” of your own, try Williams’s recipe for roasted tomato soup, below, and for the finishing touch, her mini cheesecakes. And get more hosting inspiration in our Q&A with Hicks.

Roasted Tomato and Red Onion Soup

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

- 8 tomatoes, halved
- 2 red onions, sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled but left whole
- 3 tbsp. olive oil
- 3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
- 2 cups stock of your choice, warmed
- Salt and pepper
- Heavy cream, optional
- Chopped herbs, optional

Preparation

Preheat oven to 380°F. Put tomatoes, onions, and garlic on a sheet pan.
Add olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper and toss everything. Place the tomatoes cut side up and put pan into the oven for about 40 to 45 minutes.
Keep an eye on it and give it a little toss. When everything is soft and has a nice color to it, remove pan from oven.
Let the tomatoes, garlic, and onion cool slightly and then place along with the balsamic vinegar and stock into a blender. A hand blender also works. Blend to the desired consistency. Season to taste.
If necessary, warm the soup. Swirl some cream on top and sprinkle with chopped herbs.
Of course, this soup is best served with lashings of warm bread and butter.

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