Tomato soup can be bought at all supermarkets, but it will taste so much better when you make it yourself if you’re using a good recipe.
Mary Berry’s tomato soup recipe used to be a go-to for me, but since making Jamie Oliver’s version, I’ve switched.
Jamie Oliver’s creamy tomato soup that includes carrots, celery and fresh basil is super easy to cook, just like he describes on his website and is ready in just 45 minutes.
Not only is this soup delicious to enjoy on its own, but it also serves as a quick base sauce for dishes like lasagne or pasta bake.
I altered the ingredients below as I only wanted to make three servings rather than six.
Ingredients (serves six)
Two carrots
Two sticks of celery
Two medium onions
Two cloves of garlic
Olive oil
Two organic reduced-salt chicken or vegetable stock cubes
Two 400 g tins of quality plum tomatoes
Six large ripe tomatoes
Half a bunch of fresh basil (15g)
Method
I started by peeling and roughly slicing the carrots, slicing the celery, and peeling and roughly chopping the onions and garlic.
Then in a large pan, I heated two tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat before adding in all the prepped ingredients and cooking with lid ajar for 15 minutes – just until the carrots and celery had softened.
Grabbing a measuring jug, I crumbled in a chicken stock cube, covered it with 500ml boil water (or use 1.5L if making six servings) and stirred until it had dissolved.
I then added the stock to the pan with tinned and fresh whole tomatoes, including the green part where the stalk comes out from.
Giving it a good stir, I brought it to a boil before reducing it to a simmer for 10 minutes with the lid on. Meanwhile, I picked the basil leaves off of the stalks.
Once the time was up I removed the pan from the heat and seasoned it with sea salt and black pepper before stirring through the basil leaves.
Using a stick blender, I liquidised the soup until the texture was smooth before going in for another taste test to see if it needed more salt or pepper.
The soup tasted incredible and paired well with ciabatta bread. You could also serve it with a cheese toastie if you’re looking for more of a hearty meal.
