Warm yourself in September’s kitchen

It’s definitely soup weather here in North Yorkshire! Having said that the tomatoes have really benefited from the spell of lovely warm weather that we had earlier in the week and I’ve got a lot of fruits turning a lovely shade of crimson. The peppers have done quite well in the tunnel so I’ve managed to pick a batch of each to turn into a delicious and warming soup. I was going to pop it in the freezer for a week or so but I think it’s cold enough to enjoy it over the next couple of days!

Red Pepper and tomato soup

Enough for 6 takes about an hour

4 or 5 red peppers, deseeded and roughly chopped

1 large onion, chopped

Good glug of oil and a knob of butter

1 desertspn sugar

2 garlic cloves, chopped

Good bunch of oregano, chopped

1 litre stock (I use chicken)

1.5kg tomatoes

2 tablespoons of tomato puree

Hear the oil and butter in a large, lidded pan then add the onions and peppers. Cook over a low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring often.

Add the sugar, garlic and oregano, give a good stir then pop the lid on and leave on a low heat to sweat for another 15 minutes until the veg are soft and tender.

Whilst the veg are sweating pop the kettle on to boil then pour over the tomatoes in large bowl. Leave for a minute or so until the skins are bursting. Pour away the water and slip off the skins. Cut in half and tear away the seeds. Chop the tomato flesh roughly.

Add the tomatoes, tomato puree and the stock into the pot and bring to the boil. Simmer gently for about 30 minutes.

Use a stick blender or a liquidiser to blitz everything together. Check for seasoning then pour back into the pan to rewarm or freeze for later. Add some milk to make it creamy and to thin a little if you want to.

I like to toast a thin slice of baguette, pop that on the top of the bowl of soup then drizzle over a little olive oil and a dash of balsamic. Or you could simply serve with some soured cream or creme fraiche