Roasted Tomato Soup

  I suppose at this stage Christmas and New Years is a distant memory for most, but I hope everyone had as nice a festive season as I had. Back to reality with a bang there on Monday and back to business as usual with the blog. I am loath to use the ‘D’ word – last nights dinner was a big cheesey quesadilla and potato waffles – but I did think this was a good time to post this recipe. There have been a lot of searches for my DIY Pot Noodle recipe so I think a lot of people are making their own lunches to bring to work to get through January, whether that’s for financial or health reasons is anyone’s guess! I regularly make this soup for work lunches or if I don’t really want a proper dinner, this is a perfect substitution.

It is very light and is a really adaptable recipe. You can leave out the carrot, celery and oregano, up the tomatoes by 100g and add a bunch of basil leaves to make a great tomato and basil soup. You can add a dash of cream or crème fraiche at the end if you crave a creamy hit. Your options are endless!

Another freezer friendly recipe.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 1 red onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 stick of celery, peeled and finely chopped
• 400g tomatoes, chopped
• A large pinch of salt and pepper
• A small pinch of sugar
• 4 tbsp. Olive oil
• 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
• 300ml hot vegetable or chicken stock

Method:

• Preheat your oven to 200c/180c fan/gas mark 6.
• Put all of the ingredients apart from the tinned tomatoes and stock into a roasting tray and give it a good mix together.
• Roast for approximately 40 minutes, giving it a stir about halfway through the cooking time. When the carrots are soft it is ready.
• When the veg are cooked, tip the entire contents of the roasting dish into a blender with the tinned tomatoes and blend until it is as smooth as possible. Pour into a saucepan and add the hot stock.
• Over a medium heat warm through and taste to see if it needs any extra seasoning. It may also need some extra sugar depending on the tinned tomatoes that you use.
• Garnish with some chopped parsley.