I picked up a copy of Ina Garten’s The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook and discovered a recipe for Roasted Tomato Basil Soup. I had made many tomato soups, usually using canned tomatoes, not fresh.

Until, of course, the Barefoot Contessa came along. Garten takes this often lackluster and forgettable soup and infuses it with so much flavor. The taste of the tomato shines through and gives the ...