Roasted Tomato & Red Pepper Soup

With the blustery, rainy weather in full force here in the UK I have turned to soup for the answer. Tomato soup has to be a classic but so often we turn to a tin, which is perfectly fine but believe me, roasting your own tomatoes to make your own soup is unbeatable. Not only will your whole house fill with an intense aroma of roasted tomato and herbs but the intensely sweet and rich flavour from the slow-roasted vegetables, combined with the salty tang of feta cheese, will create a bowl of comfort - the soup equivalent of a hug. It is literally perfection in soup form, plus the wonderful orange colour is bound to brighten up even the gloomiest of days.

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Ingredients

strong white bread flour 500 g
fast action dried yeast 1 tsp
salt 1 tsp
olive oil 1 tbsp
egg 1 (beaten)
tomatoes 600 g (chopped)
red pepper 2 (chopped)
red onion 1 (quartered)
potato 1 (chopped)
garlic cloves 3 (peeled)
fresh rosemary 4 sprig (leaves picked)
fresh thyme 4 sprig (leaves picked)
balsamic vinegar 50 ml
feta 300 g (crumbled)
fresh basil 1 handful (leaves picked)
mature cheddar 150 g (grated)
vegetable stock cube 1

Method

Make the dough for the Cheese & Tomato Swirl Buns

Place the strong white bread flour, fast action dried yeast, and 1 teaspoon salt into a bowl, then pour in 350ml warm water, 1 tablespoon olive oil and the beaten egg.
Mix together well, then knead for 10 minutes either with your hands on an oiled work surface or in a stand mixer.
Tip the dough into a well-oiled container with a lid and set aside in a warm place for at least 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Roast the vegetables for the soup

While the dough rises, roast the vegetables for the soup. Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan/400°F/Gas 6). Chop the tomatoes and red pepper, cut the red onion into wedges, peel and chop the potato. Peel the garlic cloves.
Place the tomatoes, red onion, red pepper, potato, garlic cloves, half the fresh rosemary and half the fresh thyme (leaves picked) into a large roasting tin. Season with salt and pepper, then drizzle liberally with olive oil and sprinkle with a dash of balsamic vinegar.
Place the tin in the oven and roast slowly for 30–45 minutes, until the potato is tender and the red onion has started to brown. Carefully remove the tin from the oven and set aside.

Make the cheese tomato paste

Take 4 pieces of roasted tomatoes from your roasted vegetable mix, then blend this together with half the feta, the picked fresh basil leaves, the rest of the fresh rosemary and fresh thyme.
Blend until you have a paste then set aside.

Shape & bake the bread

Grease and line a roughly 9 inch x 13 inch oblong tin. Spread the dough out onto an oiled board into roughly a 20cm x 10cm oblong.
Spread the cheese tomato paste all over and then grate the mature cheddar on top.
Roll it up into a thick oblong and divide into 6 even portions. Lay them cut side up into the tin in two rows of 3. Set aside to proof for 30 minutes.
Bake at 200°C (180°C fan/400°F/Gas 6) for 45 minutes or until golden. Set aside to cool.

Finish & blend the soup

In a large soup pan on a medium heat, add the roasted vegetables with 1 litre vegetable stock. Allow everything to gently simmer for 15 mins then turn off the heat and allow to cool for 15 mins, then crumble in the reserved feta and blend until smooth.
Serve with your delicious Cheese & Tomato Swirl Buns, and some extra feta crumbled over the soup if you like.

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