Tomato soup

I love tomato soup as it has the depth and warmth to stand up to any chilly day and with so many variations I can make it spicy, smoky, zesty or just plain and simple - with lots of varieties of tomatoes! This recipe is one I have "borrowed" from my mother in law and it is delicious, but nowhere near as good as hers!

Preparation: 15 minutes
Cooking: 30 minutes
Serves up to 4 people (or 2 hungry souls)

Ingredients
2 tins peeled whole tomatoes
1 large onion chopped
4 rashers bacon chopped
1 vegetable stock cube in 1/2 pint hot water
bunch of basil leaves
salt & pepper to taste

Method

• First sweat the chopped bacon in a deep medium sized pan, add the onions and cook till they lose colour. At this point increase heat and let the mix sizzle and catch a little bit.
• Add tinned tomatoes in juice, stir for a minute on high heat then reduce temperature to low. Add the stock and let the mix bubble away gently.
• After 20 minutes or so remove from heat and blend with a hand blender till the soup has a smooth texture. Add pepper and taste as you may not need to add extra salt due to the bacon used.
• If the soup is too thick just add some more hot water or stock to get it to a consistency of your choice.
• Add the basil leaves and leave to simmer on very low heat for another 5 minutes.
• The soup can be served with a swirl of cream or some herb & garlic croutons.

Note:

You can omit the bacon if making a vegetarian version but add seasoning at the end of cooking. You can even leave out the cream, croutons or basil and just eat with crusty bread for the most satisfying flavour of tomatoes.

I have used tinned tomatoes which work as well as fresh ones. To add some more texture to the soup, add 2 medium carrots at the start with the onions.

To give the soup extra heat, add 1/2 teaspoon paprika & 1/4 teaspoon cumin powder at the start of the cooking process. Chilli flakes can be added at the end once the soup is ready.