TOMATO AND VEGETABLE SOUP

Now that the weather is getting colder, it’s nice to have freshly made hot soup for a quick lunchtime snack or as a starter when inviting friends to dinner. Here’s my quick and easy TOMATO AND VEGETABLE SOUP recipe. You can use the same recipe for nearly any vegetables you may have in your cupboard. If you do not have fresh tomatoes, you can always use tinned tomatoes.

Ingredients for 4-6 servings

• 5 medium ripe tomatoes
• 1 medium potato
• 1 medium carrot
• 1 medium pepper
• 1 medium onion
• 2-3 tablespoons tomato puree
• Single cream (optional.  If you do use then use sparingly)
• Half a teaspoon of turmeric
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
• 2 teaspoons grated or ground ginger

Method:

4. Add the herbs like ginger, garlic and the spices like turmeric, salt and pepper.

5. Once the tomatoes start to soften, add two cups of water to the mixture.

6. Cook until all the vegetables soften.  If you have the time, add another cup of water and allow this to simmer on a low flame for half an hour.

7. Either transfer the TOMATO AND VEGETABLE SOUP thick soup into a blender or using a hand blender, blend the soup.  At this stage if you find that theTOMATO AND VEGETABLE SOUP is too thick – you can add some boiling water to the soup.

8. Add the cream, taste the TOMATO AND VEGETABLE SOUP  and make adjustments as required. If you find the tomatoes to be quite sharp – you can add a bit of honey or jaggery to the soup.

9. Serve TOMATO AND VEGETABLE SOUP with croutons and warm French bread.