Roasted Mexican Tomato Soup

I was scanning through my recipe stack looking for something to do with the loads of Roma tomatoes in my garden that ripened this week, and came across a recipe from Relish magazine.  I adapted it a bit to use fresh tomatoes and LOVED the resulting soup!  The article suggested this is a great soup to share with a friend/neighbor, but we ate so much I'd have to make another batch to do that.

*2 lbs. Roma tomatoes (use any variety you've got on hand, but note that the water content is pretty low on the Romas so adjust your liquids accordingly)
*1/2 tsp. salt
*fresh ground pepper
*2 tsp. brown sugar
*2 TBSP. olive oil
*1 medium onion, chopped
*1 large carrot, chopped
*2 garlic cloves, chopped
*1/2 tsp. cumin
*1 can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
*3 c. chicken broth
*1/4 c. heavy cream
*Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 300.  Cut the tomatoes in halves and place on a baking sheet.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper and brown sugar.  Drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil.  Bake 90 minutes, until browned.  Heat olive oil in a large saucepan.  Add onion, carrot, garlic, and cumin.  Cook, covered, for about 10 minutes.  Add roasted tomatoes, reserved juice, stewed tomatoes and broth.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes.  Mash with a potato masher or blend with an immersion blender until desired consistency. Add cream and season to taste.  Serve with Monterey Jack cheese.  Serves 8.
*This soup will freeze well, and would be great to share.
*We put a scoop of black beans in the bowl and poured the soup over top for a little added protein.  Add some fresh corn on the cob and a big salad for a very colorful and tasty meal.  Both girls loved dipping their quesadillas into the soup!