Tomato Soup

There’s something comforting about a bowl of soup especially when the seasons start getting colder.  It seemed a natural choice to make tomato soup as my fridge is over-run with home-grown tomatoes and I’ve opted for a no cream soup with a grown-up base!

Ingredients for 2 servings

500g	fresh tomatoes
400g	chopped tomatoes
pinch	chilli flakes
1	garlic clove
65g	onion, chopped
5g	olive oil
10ml	balsamic vinegar
15g	anchovy fillets
10g	fresh basil leaves
200ml	water
	salt and pepper

(Example ingredient amounts given, adjust accordingly to your requirements)

Method

• Pre-heat your to 155°C fan/325°F and line a baking sheet with non stick foil.
• Cut the fresh tomatoes in half and arrange them onto the baking sheet.
• Add a little sprinkle of salt, this is going to help intensify the tomato flavour during cooking.
• Slow roast the tomatoes for approximately 45 minutes.
• Take a wok or large frying pan with deep sides and place it onto a medium heat.
• Add the oil along with the chopped onion.  Take a couple of minutes to soften the onion before adding the garlic, chilli flakes and anchovy fillets.
• After a minute or so the garlic will have started to soften so turn down the heat a little so as not to burn the garlic and add the balsamic vinegar to the pan.
• Stir the ingredients while the vinegar reduces a little before adding the slow roasted tomatoes along with the tinned tomatoes and the water.
• Turn up the heat and bring the mixture to the boil before turning the heat down to a simmer.
• Leave the soup to bubble away with a lid on for approximately 10 minutes.
• Using either a stick blender, Nutri blender or conventional food blender, blend the soup until its smooth being careful with the hot mixture.  If you feel happier letting the soup blend cool a little before you attempt this that’s fine, but at this stage add the basil leaves to the blender.
• Taste the soup before serving and adjust the seasoning to your own taste.

Notes

• Feel free to use more or less anchovy fillets.
• If the soup is too thick, feel free to loosen it with a little hot water until you get the desired thickness.
• The flavours will intensify the longer you leave it so double up and make more soup for another day!
• This soup is super low calorie so I served it with a sandwich.  Who doesn’t love soup and a sandwich?