Charred Tomato + Bell Pepper Soup

The monsoons are finally here with their gloomy skies and chilly winds and there's nothing better than cosying up with a good book and a hot bowl of soup in this weather! This soup is full of fibre, vitamin C and healthy fats.
The key to this deep-flavoured soup is not to boil the vegetables but roast them. Roast them in the oven until nicely caramelised, a little charred even, and then blend them up with their roasting juices.
Ingredients
- •5 large tomatoes
- •1 handful cherry tomatoes (or use 2 extra tomatoes if you can't find cherry tomatoes)
- •2 onions
- •2 red capsicum
- •5 sprigs of thyme
- •4 cloves garlic
- •1 tsp salt
- •1 tsp black pepper
- •2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Details
What To Do
- 1
Preheat your oven to 180°C.
- 2
Wash all the vegetables. Cut the large tomatoes into quarters.
- 3
Slice the onions and cut open the red peppers, remove the stalk, seeds and white pith inside, and roughly chop into slices.
- 4
Place all chopped vegetables and the cherry tomatoes in a baking tray and mix in the thyme, salt, pepper, garlic and olive oil.
- 5
Place the vegetables in the oven for 25 minutes until the tomatoes and peppers char slightly- meaning there are some brown sections- and the onions caramelise into a golden brown colour.
- 6
Once your times beeps, check the veggies. Stir them to mix everything up and roast for a further 20 minutes.
- 7
Once they look lovely and caramelised allow them to cool down. Remove any tough stalks of thyme, and then blend using a hand blender until smooth or tip the vegetables into a mixie, seal the lid carefully and pulse until smooth. Add a splash of water if it is too thick- but this is supposed to hearty. Check salt and adjust to taste.
- 8
When you want to serve, heat gently over a low-medium heat until piping hot but not boiling. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with some extra thyme leaves and a drizzle of olive oil and crack of black pepper. Serve with slices of toasted wholegrain sourdough bread – or tear them into small squares and throw into the bowl to have some rough croutons.
- 9
Meal Prep Tip: As part of your meal prep, you could double these quantities to make a big batch and freeze in single portions. When you're tired after a long day of work, you can thaw it, heat it up and you have a comforting bowl of soup ready without any hassle! This soup can also be served cold if you want a gazpacho- just add a tbsp of apple cider vinegar and stir through.