Awesome Recipes: Roasted Tomato and Pepper Soup

Well, thought this might be a nice idea, if I get my act together I might include this as a regular thing with like, step by step pictures. But right now this is my first, and it's simple as anything, great for summer - and ridiculously tasty.

What will you need?

Kitchen Stuff:
- a flat-ish tray for roasting
- medium saucepan
- wooden spoon/spatula
- sharp knife (for chopping)
- jug (glass or plastic)
- kitchentowel
- a blender (preferably)

Ingredients (serves about 4):
- some olive oil
- 1 red onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 red pepper
- 1 yellow pepper
- 900g vine-ripened tomatoes (ie the normal sized ones)
- handful of cherry tomatoes
- tomato puree if you want
- 900ml vegetable/chicken stock
- some thyme, basil leaves and/or majoram (always helps tomato dishes)
- 1 tsp sugar

1 -- pre-heat the oven

An exact temperature doesn't matter really, I'd say 180 - 200 degrees C (which is gas mark 4-6)

2 -- prepare your veg

Peel and slice your onion. Don't worry too much about how fine you do it, especially if you have a blender handy. Same applies to the peppers; de-seed and slice. Quarter the larger tomatoes.

3 -- the roasting...

Put you sliced onions, sliced peppers, tomato quarters and cherry tomatoes into the roasting tray. Drizzle with the olive oil (stir with a wooden spoon to make sure it's all covered) and sprinkle with thyme and majoram. Roast in the oven for about 20 minutes, stir after 10. I would personally leave it for about half an hour, until the vegetables are slightly browned/blackened on the edges. This is perfect roast vegetable colouring ^_^

4 -- to blend or not to blend?

If you have a blended skip this step... if not, may be best to remove the tomato and pepper skins at this point.

5 -- making the soup

Make the stock in a jug. If your veg is looking too greasy, put them on a couple of pieces of paper towel to remove any excess olive-oil. Then put them into the saucepan, and add the stock. Add some tomato puree, the sugar and salt and pepper if you want. Bring to the boil, then simmer for about 30 minutes.

6 -- Finishing it off

Use a blender to smooth it all together... enjoy. Best served with homemade bread ^_^