Recipe: The Godmother's Simple Tomato Soup

The longest January in history? Quite possibly. This month I've tried a mixture of hibernating at home beneath layers of cashmere whilst abusing the luxury of underfloor heating, and forcing myself out of doors, stomping beneath leaden skies in an attempt to stoke the vitamin D levels.

I quickly realised as appealing as the former of these approaches is, in theory, it does nothing to lift my increasingly undulating moods. Having received a copy of Anna Jones's A Modern Cook's Year from a dear friend, I promptly adopted her notion of kitchen-as-a-happy-space, basking in its gentle counter lighting whilst being soothed by the murmurs of my batter-flecked radio. I am not sure who thought of this first - me or the cat, who's also taken up residence, in the leather arm chair I use to read recipes in. 

Finding the energy for cooking is not always feasible, especially at the end of a hectic day, so my cheat is to make as many dishes as possible when I am have the time and inclination, meaning I can usually tuck into something good when time is tight. An easy but satisfying option is to have a pot of soup on the stove ready to be warmed through at a moment's notice.

My Godmother's tomato and red pepper soup recipe is a favourite I keep returning to. She is a naturally gifted cook, whose intuition with food I increasingly admire whenever we spend time in the kitchen together, and whilst not using obvious winter ingredients, this simple soup is a great staple for midweek lunches or cosy sofa suppers with a side of Delicious {Sky's delightful British soapy-drama}. 

I'd also venture to say the soup could make a nice starter for a homely dinner party, if tarted up with a dash of creme fraiche or balsamic on top.

Serves 4-6, depending on thickness

Ingredients

4 x red peppers

8 - 10 medium ripened tomatoes

2 medium cloves of garlic

1 pint of vegetable stock

Rapeseed oil {for roasting}

Salt and pepper

Pumpkin seeds

Method

Preheat oven to 180 C

Toast a handful of pumpkin seeds in a frying pan on a low heat for a minute or so, until you hear the first one pop. Set aside.

Rinse the tomatoes and peppers well

Chop the tomatoes roughly into halves, and remove the tops. Do the same with the peppers also removing the seeds and place them all into a large roasting tray

Add a good glug of rapeseed oil and seasoning, as well as the two cloves of garlic and place in an oven for 20-30 minutes, until soft but not darkened

Tip all the vegetables into a large pan and add your vegetable stock slowly, until you get the consistency you like best - personally I like a thick soup

Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 mins

Remove from the heat and leave to cool, before blitzing in a food processor or with a hand mixer - you may need to do this in batches due to the volume. Again, you can mix as much or little as you like depending on your preferred texture.

Check seasoning and sprinkle pumpkin seeds on top. Serve with some crusty bread and English butter. 

Stay toasty x