Roasted Tomato and Basil Soup

Method

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1. Heat the oven to 200C fan.

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2. Toss the tomatoes and onions with 2 tablespoons of the oil, the salt, pepper and oregano and spread them cut side up in a large roasting tin.

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3. Sit the garlic head in the tin, pour the last tablespoon of oil over its cut face and cover just the garlic with a scrap of foil.

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4. Roast 45 minutes. The tomatoes should be collapsed and browned at the edges — that browning is the whole point, so do not pull them early.

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5. Squeeze the garlic cloves out of their skins into the tin and discard the papery husk.

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6. Tip everything into a pot with the stock and the basil stalks and simmer 5 minutes.

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7. Blend until smooth, then stir in the vinegar and most of the basil leaves.

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8. Taste for salt. If it still reads sharp, another few minutes of simmering will do more than sugar would.

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Chef’s Tips

• Do not crowd the tin. Tomatoes packed together steam in their own juice and never brown, and unbrowned tomatoes will taste as though they need sugar.
• Basil stalks have more flavour than the leaves and hold up to simmering. Save the leaves for the end, where the heat will not flatten them.
• If your tomatoes are out of season and dull, roast them 10 minutes longer rather than reaching for sweetener.

Common Substitutions & Variations

• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the usual stand-in when you are out of fresh garlic — it will not caramelise the same way, but it carries the flavour.
• Fresh herbs work in place of the dried oregano at roughly three times the quantity — a teaspoon of dried is about a tablespoon of fresh, chopped.

Pairing Suggestions

• A grilled cheese sandwich
• Crusty bread, to serve
• A glass of Chianti

Storage & Reheating

Refrigerate up to 4 days and freeze 3 months. It thickens as it stands; loosen with stock rather than water so the seasoning holds.

Common questions

Nutritional Highlights

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list. Treat these as an estimate — brands and cuts vary.