Roasted (But Not Cooked) Pepper and Tomato Soup

This is my favourite soup to make during a BBQ season. There are always so many leftover roasted veggies and let's be honest, they don't look too appealing after a while, nor are there many recipes that utilise them. This soup doesn't have to be cooked, it's made by blending cold, roasted veggies, ready-made broth, tinned tomatoes and herbs. It can be put in the fridge straight away, or heated up in the microwave. Easy-peasy and best of all- minimum clean-up.

4 servings:

• bell peppers, sweet pointed peppers or mixture of both --> 800g-1kg
• red onion --> one large
• garlic --> 4-6 cloves
• tomatoes; whole, peeled --> one 400g can
• meat or vegetable broth --> 250-400ml
• salt & pepper

OPTIONAL:

• fresh herbs
• spices
• goat cheese
• cream
• 1-2 fresh chilli peppers or chilli flakes

Wash the peppers, cut the onions in half and place them on a lined baking tray. Roast in the oven for 30 min at 200C. If you want to roast the garlic you have to put it in the oven for 10-15 min.

Roasting can be done in the oven, under a broiler or using regular garden BBQ.

Once roasted and cooled, it's time to de-skin and de-seed the veggies.

Onion skin comes right off, same goes for garlic. Scrape the skin off peppers using blunt butter knife, slice them open and pull out the seeds. It's a bit messy, but very easy. Do the same to chili peppers, unless you want to use the seeds in the soup.

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Roasted veggies, canned tomatoes, half the broth, spices and herbs. Blend until smooth, taste and add salt and pepper. Check the consistency of the soup, if you like it thicker, leave it as it is, if you like it thinner- add more broth.

You can customise your soup by adding different spices and herbs or add cream or cheese for some creaminess:

-fresh basil for refreshing soup

-goats cheese and fresh thyme for some sweetness

-Mexican spice blend for a bit of spice

Once blended, soup can be stored in the fridge, freezer or reheated straight away.

Keep in the fridge and reheat in the microwave or on the stove.

Top the soup with some cream, goats cheese pieces, croutons or freshly made basil sauce. Serve with crusty bread.