Soups & stews
Roasted red pepper soup
Although our pickers often reject soup for lunch – it's not sustaining enough they say – this is a favourite in our staff canteen. Roasting the peppers gives them a greater intensity of flavour. Serve topped with a blob of crème fraîche, chunks of avocado and some chopped coriander.
Ingredients
- 4 red peppers
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 onion, sliced
- 1 leek, chopped
- 1 red chilli, chopped, or 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
- 1 bay leaf
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
Method
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Step 1
Preheat oven to 200°C/Gas 6. Roast the peppers either in the oven or over the naked flame of a gas hob, turning them until the skin is blackened and blistered.
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Step 2
Place them in a bowl immediately and cover with clingfilm - this allows the peppers to sweat and makes them easier to peel. Leave until cool enough to handle, then peel off the skin and remove the seeds and roughly slice the flesh.
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Step 3
Heat the olive oil in a large pan, add the garlic, onion, leek, chilli and bay leaf and cook over a low heat for 5 minutes.
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Step 4
Add the tomatoes and sugar, turn up the heat and cook for 10 minutes, stirring to make sure the vegetables don't stick.
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Step 5
Add the red peppers then reduce the heat and cook for 20 minutes. Stir in the vinegar, sweet chilli sauce and 300ml water, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
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Step 6
Purée until smooth and then pass through a food mill as well, if you want a particularly smooth texture. Season to taste, adding more vinegar or chilli sauce if required.