Tomato Rustica Soup

This is another recipe from the Mollie Katzen's Recipes: Soup cookbook. This recipe calls for you to roast garlic in advance for this soup, so please allow time for that. The original recipe called for you to roast 4 bulbs of garlic, but I found that 2 bulbs was enough to get the needed roasted mashed garlic. If your garlic bulbs are smaller you will need to roast more.

3 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium sized garlic bulbs
1 small onion, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
6 teaspoons garlic, minced
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
2 1/2 cups water
1 teaspoons dried basil
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste

1. To roast the garlic, preheat the oven to 375° and line a small baking dish with foil. Cut the tips off the garlic bulbs and place them upright in the bottom of the the baking dish. You can use some extra foil to get them to stay upright. Drizzle them with 1 tablespoon of oil and bake them for about 30 minutes or until the bulb feel slightly soft to the touch. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool. When they are cool enough to handle squeeze out the roasted garlic cloves and mash them until you have the needed 3 tablespoons.
2. Warm a large stock pot on medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of oil and swirl it around the pan. Add the onion and thyme, and saute for 5 to 8 minutes. Add the 6 tablespoons of minced raw garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
3. Stir in the tomatoes and water, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a very low simmer and cook partially covered for 10 minutes. Stir in the mashed roasted garlic and simmer for another 10 minutes.
4. Transfer half of the soup to a blender and puree. Return the puree to soup, and add the basil and cayenne pepper. Add salt and pepper to taste before serving.