:D

Ingredients:

• 4 Large Red Capsicums
• Olive Oil
• 1 Large Onion
• 4 Tablespoon of minced garlic (fresh or otherwise)
• 2 Heaped Tablespoons of Concentrated Tomato Paste
• 1 Heaped Tablespoon of Whole Black Pepper
• 15 Roma Tomatoes or Field Grown Tomatoes
• 1 Can Drained Cherry Tomatoes or Crushed Tomatoes
• 2 Cups Salt Reduced Vegetable Stock
• 1 Bunch Basil

Equipment:

1. Oven
2. Baking Pan
3. Deep Pot
4. Blender

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius.
2. Slice each side of the capsicums from the top down to get 2 large even pieces, discard remaining bits.
3. Remove any white pith or seeds from inside and place skin side up in a baking tray with baking paper.
4. Drizzle with an amount of olive oil to cover at least part of each piece.
5. Place into the preheated oven, cook until the skin shrivels and is soft, about 15-20 mins, when done take out of the oven and leave to sit in the tray to cool.
6. Set stove to high heat and place a deep pot on the stove with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
7. Slice 1 large onion into thin pieces and place into the onion into the pan and cook until brown and caramelised.
8. Reduce heat to medium and place 1 tablespoon of garlic and mix well with the onion together with the pepper.
9. Add the tomato paste and stir continuously for 1 minute, reduce heat to low once done, add the canned tomatoes.
10. For each tomato slice off the stem end completely if using roma tomatoes, or coring out the top with a small knife if using normal field grown tomatoes.
11. Slice each tomato into quarters and add to the pan as you go.
12. Peel the skin off each capsicum and then slice roughly, adding to the pan.
13. Increase the heat to high and add 2 cups of vegetable stock, stirring gently.
14. Stir occasionally until the soup starts to bubble and an even temperature is achieved.
15. Roughly cut basil and add to pan.
16. Reduce heat to low and let it sit simmering away for at least 1 hour, preferably with the lid off, taking care to not let it boil out of control.
17. Stir every once in a awhile to make sure the soup is evenly cooked and to ensure the tomatoes soften enough.
18. Turn the heat off once done and let sit until it has a mild to moderate temperature, about 1 to 2 hours.
19. Blend the soup until well pureed (about 1 1/2 mins using a vertical blender).
20. Reheat if serving immediately or store in sealed containers in the fridge for 1-2 weeks.
21. Serve with cracked pepper.

Notes:

I love to serve my soup with flat wholemeal lebanese bread spread with margarine or butter with a teaspoon of garlic and freshly cracked pepper. Grilled in the oven until brown. Sliced into pizza style portions.

An alternative addition to this recipe is the addition of prosciutto. Grill about 100g in the oven, let cool then slice into rough pieces, add to the soup when reheating, add a delicious meaty element to the soup.

Finally, adding a couple of sliced Jalepeno chilli's make this soup a little spicy, a recent addition i've been enjoying, probably not for everyones tastes though.