RECIPE: VEGAN ROASTED TOMATO & RED PEPPER SOUP

The winters (and early in the spring) in Cape Town can get ridiculous – it doesn’t snow much or anything but we complain like we live in the Arctic circle. Nothing you do warms you up – but eating delicious soups always helps the mood!

It’s actually scary what a hit this dish is considering up until about a year ago, I couldn’t touch tomato or 99% of products containing tomato – let alone choose to make Tomato Soup for dinner! So here it is – a new favourite, our Vegan Roasted Tomato & Red Pepper Soup.

VEGAN ROASTED TOMATO & RED PEPPER SOUP

CHECK LIST

3 BIG Red Peppers (Left whole for the start)

1kg Cherry Tomatoes

1 Small Red Onion (White Onion will do fine too)

2 Medium Potatoes (Optional extra to assist with thickening if needed)

2 Whole Cloves Fresh Garlic

1 Sprig of Fresh Rosemary

Handful of Fresh Thyme

3 Tablespoons Spanish Smoked Paprika from Woolworths 

1 Teaspoon Cinnamon

1 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

1/4 (or less) Teaspoon Dried Chili Flakes

Olive Oil or Coconut Oil

Salt and Pepper

Sundried & Baked Onions for topping available at Checkers

METHOD

ROASTING THE VEGETABLES

Chop the Peppers up into quarters, and remove all the seeds. Peel and cut up the potatoes and onion into quarters too.

Extra Tip / Great Variation: If you want to take this soup to the next level, chargrill (lightly burn them on an open flame – gas stove or braai) your roast Peppers before roasting them. Just remember to remove the skins before roasting them with the rest of the veg.

Line a deep roasting dish with heavy tinfoil, and fill with the whole cherry tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, garlic cloves and onion.

Drizzle a nice heavy hand of olive oil (or coconut oil) over the top of the vegetables, and sprinkle with the smoked paprika, cinnamon, chili flakes and cayenne pepper – and give it a good seasoning of salt and pepper.

Give the vegetables a stir to mix around the spices and oils, place the rosemary and thyme on the top of the pile and cover with another piece of heavy tin foil.

Seal the edges of the foil and pop in the oven at 180 degrees for 30 minutes.

Take out, give it a stir and give the mix another crack of black pepper – and put back into the oven for another 15 – 20 minutes until all the vegetables are soft and squishy and smelling amazing.

MAKING THE SOUP

Pour all of the contents of your tin foil sleeve into a soup pot (2L+). Make sure you get in all the juices and oils from the roasting dish.

NB – Remove what’s left of the garlic cloves. We don’t want those to be blended up with the soup.

Fry off the now roasted vegetables for 10 – 15 minutes at a medium heat, until the vegetables have started to break down in the pot.

Add 1 – 1.5L (4 – 6 Cups, until the vegetables are covered with water) of boiling water to the pot and let cook out for 30 – 45 minutes

Once everything is looking cooked out and the water has changed colour to match the vegetables (tomato colour), take off the heat at set aside for 10 minutes to cool down a bit.

When ready, blitz up and make smooth. Should you want a REALLY smooth soup, strain the soup.

TO SERVE

Dish into a nice deep bowl and top with the Sundried Onions.

To cream things up a bit, once dished up in the bowl, you can add a drizzle of Coconut Cream or regular Cream over the top and stir through. Would also be amazing with a sprinkle of Feta Cheese.

Have you tried this recipe out? Let us know! Use the hashtag #thesocialneediaeats to show us how it turned out – we LOVE seeing what you’re up to in the kitchen. Don’t forget to tag us in your post.

Looking to get in contact with us? Pop us an email at jenna@thesocialneedia.co.za or find us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

Stay Golden x