In a large bowl combine the olive oil with the spices (salt, sugar, black pepper, oregano, red chili flakes) and the balsamic vinegar.

Add the minced garlic.

To that same bowl, add the sliced onions and halved tomatoes, and mix everything together. Don’t forget to take the hard core out when slicing the tomatoes.

Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C), add the tomatoes-onions mix to a roasting tray, and place them in the oven.

Roast them for about 35 minutes until you have a nice char on the tomatoes and onions.

Add everything from the roasting tray to a blender. You can also add them to a large bowl and use an immersion blender.
I preferred using my Vitamix countertop blender as I wanted a very smooth tomato soup. If you prefer it chunkier, you can use an immersion blender and stop blending while the soup is still chunky. You can even use a potato masher for a rustic chunkiness to the soup.

Add the vegetable (or chicken) stock and blend. Make sure to choose a good-quality vegetable or chicken stock as this will affect the taste of the soup significantly!

Blend until you have the desired consistency.

Pour the blended soup into a pot and place it over medium heat.

Add the heavy cream and stir while the soup is simmering just for 2-3 minutes. Once your tomato soup is ready, spoon it generously into a bowl. I personally cannot eat soup without at least a couple of slices of soft, crusty bread.