by Ella Woodward
This is without a doubt one of my absolute favourite soup recipes. It is just so amazingly rich, warming and delicious. I love the bright red colour too. All of the ingredients are naturally wonderful, however, it is the roasting process that takes them to the next level as it really intensifies the original flavours. Even better, cooking the tomatoes and peppers in this way means that they fully absorb all the delicious aromas and tastes of the basil, rosemary, bay leaves and thyme. You really can taste the wonderfully subtle hints of each herb in every mouthful, which creates such a perfectly unique flavour. Trust me this makes a fantastic starter, all of your guests will love it. It’s really simple too, which means you can focus on the main course and dessert, preparing them as the vegetables roast. Totally perfect.
Serves 6
Ingredients
16 plum tomatoes
4 red peppers
A large handful of fresh basil leaves
A handful of fresh rosemary
5-7 bay leaves
Dried thyme
1/2 of a cup of water
4 dessert spoons of apple cider vinegar (use lime if you don’t have this)
3 dessert spoons of tomato puree
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Method
Slice the red peppers into eighths, removing the centre. Then chop the tomatoes into four or five slices. Cover the bottom of a roasting pan or baking tray in olive oil and place the tomatoes, peppers with the basil leaves, fresh rosemary, dried thyme, bay leaves, salt and a drizzle more olive oil on top. Roast at 200C for 30 minutes.
Once they vegetables have finished roasting put them into a liquidizer with the apple cider vinegar, tomato puree, salt & pepper, be careful not to add the bay leaves or rosemary sticks though. As the soup blends, slowly add in the water until you reach your desired consistency. Once you have reached this pour the soup straight into bowls and serve.
Click here to view Ella’s food blog, Deliciously Ella.