Tasty tomato soup

In the days before the caterpillars we made some lovely tomato soup. I found a very simple recipe by Emma Lewis on BBC Good Food and modified it slightly using vegetable stock instead of milk so the soup wasn't too creamy but still very filling and tasty.


Ingredients

500g tomatoes, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp tomato sauce or tomato puree

600 ml vegetable stock

Handful of basil leaves

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pan and add the onion and garlic

2. Cook over a low to moderate heat until the onion and garlic have softened which should take about 5 minutes

3. Add the tomato sauce or the tomato puree, the chopped tomatoes and some of the basil and bring up to the boil

4. Once the mixture has started to boil, turn down the heat and leave to simmer for 15 minutes

5. And then it's all into the blender for a quick whizz to make it smooth

6. At this point you can pack the mixture away into a container in your freezer for later use (it can freeze for up to one month).

7. However, if you're hungry now return the mixture back to the pan and add the vegetable stock.

8. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 5 minutes

9. Serve and garnish with basil leaves