By Jael Davison, Catering Assistant

Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4.

Quarter the tomatoes (removing the core if you don’t like it) and place on a large baking tray or 2 smaller ones with the garlic cloves. Sprinkle over 1 tsp of the dried basil a little salt, pepper and olive oil. Using a large spoon or your hands, make sure the tomatoes are well coated. Put the tray into the oven, bake for 20 mins, take it out and stir it around, place back into the oven for approx. 20 mins. You want the tomatoes to look darker and shrunken but not dried out.

While the tomatoes are roasting, put the onions into a large saucepan with olive oil and gently cook over a low heat for about 15 mins till soft. When they are ready, add the roasted tomatoes, garlic and all the juices from the baking tray to the onions. Then add the paprika, cook over a medium heat for a minute. Add the passata, 300ml of veg stock and sugar. Cook for about 10 minutes, add remaining ½ tsp dried basil and vinegar.

Using a stick blender, liquidizer or food processor, whizz till you get your required consistency, smooth or slightly chunky. If you want a smooth seedless soup, pass through a sieve. If the soup is too thick for your liking, add enough veg stock to get the desired consistency. Now check the seasoning adding more salt, pepper or sugar to taste.

Hints and Tips

For cream of tomato, add approx. 50 ml of cream to the pot or swirl some into the soup in the bowl.

For a bit more kick, add a chopped red chili when cooking the onions.

Now enjoy!