Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup with Basil Oil

• 4red peppers, halved and deseeded
• 800 gvine tomatoes, halved
• 2red onions, cut into wedges
• 1carrot, roughly chopped
• 6garlic cloves, unpeeled
• 3 tbspolive oil
• 1 tspsmoked paprika
• ½ tspdried chilli flakes
• 100 gdried red lentils, rinsed
• 2 tbsptomato purée
• 700 mlhot vegetable stock
• 1 x 400 gtin cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 30 gbasil leaves
• 80 mlextra virgin olive oil
• 1small garlic clove, roughly chopped
• ½lemon, juice only
• 10 gbasil leaves, torn
• Fine salt and black pepper

Method

1. 1Heat the oven to 220°C fan. Arrange the peppers cut-side down, the tomatoes cut-side up, and the onion, carrot and unpeeled garlic across a large tray. Drizzle with the olive oil, add the smoked paprika and chilli flakes, season well and roast for 30 to 35 minutes, until the pepper skins are blackened and the tomatoes are jammy at the edges.
2. 2Meanwhile, simmer the lentils in the vegetable stock for 18 to 20 minutes, until completely soft.
3. 3Make the basil oil. Blend the 30 g basil with the extra virgin olive oil, small garlic clove and lemon juice until vivid green. Season with a pinch of salt and set aside; boiling this oil would dull both its colour and flavour.
4. 4Peel away the loose blackened pepper skins and squeeze the roasted garlic from its papery skins. Add all the roasted vegetables and tray juices to the lentils with the tomato purée, then blend until completely smooth.
5. 5Stir in the cannellini beans and simmer for 5 minutes, until they are hot and the soup coats the back of a spoon. Taste and add salt or black pepper if needed.
6. 6Ladle into warm bowls, drizzle over the basil oil and finish with the torn basil leaves.

Per serving

kcal

579

protein

20.6g

fibre

18.6g

carbs

58.4g

fat

30.7g