Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup

➡️Ingredients

Serve 4

4 deep red peppers

1 onion

3 cloves of garlic

4 ripe tomatoes

1 litre vegetable stock

2 tbsp olive oil.

2 tbsp tomato purée

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp dry basil

salt & pepper to your taste

To garnish: flaked chilli, grated parmesan, crème fraîche, pesto, olive oil, fresh basil leaves.

To serve: croutons, slices of toasted bread/l or a grilled cheese sandwich.

➡️Method

1. Start by roasting your peppers on a Griddle pan. This way the peppers will have a hint of smokiness. Grilling them this way gives food an extra dimension of flavour.

2. When roasted transfer in a bowl, cover with a towel and let them cool for 15 minutes. Peel the skin and remove the seeds, gently rinse them a bit of water and set aside in a bowl for a later use.

3. In a pot add a sprinkle of olive oil, sauté the onion until translucent , add in the garlic, paprika, the tomato purée and sugar. Mix and cook for 3 minutes.

4. Chop the tomatoes in quarters and bring them to the pot. Let them cook 2-3 minutes.

5. Poor in the stock and add dry basil, simmer for 20-25 minutes, on low-medium heat.

6. In the last 10 minutes, add the peppers roughly chopped to the pot, and cook another 5 minutes.

7. Blend everything using a stick blender adding enough water to loosen to your preferred consistency.

8. Season with salt if needed, bear in mind that the parmesan is also salty.

9. Garnish with flaked chilli or pepper, grated parmesan, pesto, a drizzle of olive oil, fresh basil leaves.

10. Serve with croutons or slices of toasted bread for dunking, even a grilled cheese sandwich.

11. Hope you enjoy!