James Martin Red pepper and tomato soup
Get ready to indulge your taste buds with a heartwarming delight – James Martin's Red Pepper and Tomato Soup! With its vibrant blend of charred red peppers, succulent plum tomatoes, and a touch of aromatic garlic, this soup is a symphony of deliciousness that'll warm you from the inside out.
Ingredients
- For the sweet red pepper and tomato soup
- 2 red peppers
- 2 banana shallots halved and trimmed
- 500 g/1lb 2oz plum tomatoes
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 25 g/1oz butter
- 450 ml/16fl oz chicken or vegetable stock hot
- For the ciabatta toast
- 100 g/3½oz jarred roasted red peppers chopped
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh chives
- 75 g/2½oz butter at room temperature
- 1 ciabatta loaf cut into slices
Instructions
- For the sweet red pepper and tomato soup
- Preheat your oven to 200°C (or 180°C for fan ovens) or Gas Mark 6.
- Hold the peppers over an open gas flame until they turn black all around.
- Place them in a bowl, cover with cling film, and let them sit for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Take the peppers out of the bowl and peel off the charred skin.
- Rinse the peppers under running water to remove any remaining skin.
- Remove the seeds and set the peeled peppers aside.
- Arrange on a baking tray the shallot halves (cut side down), plum tomatoes, and garlic cloves.
- Drizzle them with olive oil.
- Bake on the top rack of the oven for about 30 minutes or until the shallots are cooked.
- Melt the butter in a large pan over medium heat.
- Add the roasted shallots, peeled peppers, and garlic.
- Pour in the hot stock and cook for 5 minutes.
- Puree the mixture using an immersion blender, until smooth.
- Return it to the pan to warm
For the ciabatta toast
- Mix the roasted peppers and chives into the butter.
- Shape the mixture into a long log and wrap it in cling film.
- Heat a griddle pan and drizzle a bit of olive oil over the sliced ciabatta.
- Toast each side for 1 to 2 minutes, or until grill marks appear.
- Serve the soup in bowls and place the toasted ciabatta topped with the pepper and chive butter on the side.
Notes
- If you prefer, you can also roast the peppers in a hot oven. Cut them in half, remove the seeds, and place them skin-side up on an oiled baking tray. Roast for 15 minutes at 220°C (or 200°C for fan ovens) or Gas Mark 7.