Odd to want to make soup in late May isn’t it? Well this particular day just happened to be a little chilly and I just happened to fancy a bit of soup.

Tomato, roasted garlic and butterbean soup, originally uploaded by Food For Think.

I just love soup because it’s easy and you can blend pretty much whatever you want. One of my favourite foods is the great tomato and i’ll always choose a tomato base over anything else. I remember when I first moved to London I would walk past a newsagent where they sell fruit and veg outside and if I was a little hungry, I would purchase just one tomato and walk down the street eating it like an apple. I got some funny looks.

Another favourite food is roasted garlic – oh my, there’s not much better. Then there’s the butter beans. I became obsessed with butter beans when I was a child because of a cafe that my dad used to take me to every weekend called The Peppermill in Nottingham. It was the absolute best cafe that Nottingham had to offer. I think I may have cried when it shut down about 10 years ago (I was young ok!)

Ingredients (serves 4)

12 medium tomatoes
1/2 tin of butter beans
1 medium onion, finaly chopped
handful of basil
2 medium red chillis
10 cloves of garlic
salt
pepper
1/2 pint of vegetable stock (I like Bouillon)
8 slices of ciabatta

Method

1. Chop the tomatoes in half and place in a baking tin along with the garlic – drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes on a high temperature (depending on what oven setting you use) I would recommend 220C
2. Meanwhile heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan and fry the onion until it starts to go translucent. Add the chilli and fry for a further 2 minutes
3. When the tomatoes and garlic are ready, remove from the oven and place in a blender. Add the onions, butter beans, stock and basil and blend
4. Heat a griddle pan and drizzle the bread with olive oil. Season and fry until toasted
5. Season to taste and enjoy