Roasted Red Pepper & Butter Bean Soup

Ingredients

• 2 x 400g tins butter beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• 1½ tsp smoked paprika
• 1.2 litres hot vegetable stock
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• ½ lemon, juiced
• Crusty sourdough bread, to serve
• 3 celery sticks, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 x 350g jars roasted red peppers, drained, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 2 onions, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, sliced
• Natural yoghurt, to serve
• 2 bay leaves
• Fresh parsley, to serve

Method

1. Heat the oven to 220°C fan. Lay the peppers cut-side down on a large tray with the unpeeled garlic cloves tucked among them. Drizzle with 2 tbsp olive oil and a generous pinch of salt. Roast for 25-30 minutes until the skins are blackened and blistered and the flesh has collapsed. Tip into a bowl, cover with a plate, and leave to steam for 10 minutes — the skins will lift away cleanly.
2. While the peppers roast, warm 1 tbsp olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onion and carrot with a pinch of salt and sweat gently for 12 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft and sweet with no colour.
3. Squeeze the roasted garlic out of its skins into the pan. Add the smoked paprika and cayenne and stir for 1 minute until fragrant.
4. Peel the peppers and add the flesh to the pan along with any roasting juices. Stir in the chopped tomatoes, red lentils, one tin of butter beans, the stock and the sugar. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the lentils have completely broken down and everything looks deep red and jammy.
5. Blend smooth with a stick blender. For a silkier finish, pass through a sieve.
6. Return to the pan, stir in the second tin of butter beans, and simmer for 5 minutes until heated through — the beans should stay whole for texture. Stir in the lemon juice, then taste and season well with salt and black pepper.
7. To freeze, cool fully and portion into flat containers. Reheat to a simmer, loosening with a splash of water if it has thickened.