Dr Mobeus
Tomato and Red Pepper Soup
Tinned tomatoes are one of the greatest value ingredients in any supermarket – about 40p a tin and packed with flavour. But when you pair them with roasted red peppers something magical happens. The roasting brings out a deep sweetness and slight smokiness that transforms a basic tomato soup into something that tastes like it came from a posh deli. At 38p a portion this is one of the best value soups you can make. The only real work is roasting the peppers, and the oven does all of that for you while you get on with something else.
Tomato and Red Pepper Soup
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/Gas 6. Place the halved red peppers skin-side up on a baking tray with the quartered onion and whole garlic cloves. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
- Roast for 25 minutes until the pepper skins are charred and blistered. Remove from the oven and leave until cool enough to handle, then peel off the pepper skins and discard them.
- Put the roasted peppers, onion and garlic into a large saucepan. Add the chopped tomatoes, stock, oregano and the remaining olive oil.
- Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Blend until smooth with a stick blender or regular blender.
- Season well with salt and pepper. Serve in warm bowls with crusty bread.
Tips and Variations
Charred pepper skins peel off easily once cooled – do not skip the roasting, it is what makes this soup special. Add a teaspoon of smoked paprika if you want even more smokiness. This freezes brilliantly for up to 3 months. A swirl of olive oil and a sprinkle of croutons on top makes it look restaurant-quality.
