Kate Percy’s tomato and basil soup

I’m not sure why I hadn’t realised this before, but I love my soups! They’re a great source of cheap, healthy, vegan fuel for my running and cycling. And I like soups with ‘bits’ in them - the ones where I can taste the texture of the pulses, grains or vegetables. Pret a Manger’s latest batch of vegan soups are fab (check out kale, lentil and roasted spices or vegetable tagine). So, when I got my hands on Kate Percy’s Go Faster Food for Families recipe book, I flicked to the soups section to see what she suggested. My kids have all loved tomato soup. More so, when they were younger, probably. So testing out Kate’s recipe for slow roasted tomato and basil soup was always gonna happen!

Give yourself enough time for this recipe. Roasting the tomatoes (with garlic, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, sugar, black pepper) takes a couple of hours but......the smell emanating from the oven makes it well worth the wait!

I know I said that I like lumpy soup but I blended this one well to give it more chance with my youngest! After I'd blended the roasted tomato with fried onion/carrot, vegetable (vegan) stock and some tinned tomatoes and puree, I still left a thick, not watery, consistency. Now, I never add salt to any of my cooking. I figure we get plenty of salt in the food we buy, tinned and fresh. But, you may not be like me - my wife isn’t! She took one taste and added salt (she knows me!).

This is a really flexible recipe - a light meal or lunch (maybe with vegan cheese on toast). It’s low in fat and a good source of vitamins A and C, fibre and potassium. So, give it a try would be my advice (the soup, that is, not the salt!).

You can find more ideas and free recipes at Kate Percy’s Go Faster Food