Spiced tomato and chilli soup with smoked bacon
A dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of herbs and bacon will keep you coming back for more. Plus, you can mop up every last drop with sourdough.
Ingredients
• 1kg ripe tomatoes
• 2 long red chillies, chopped
• 1 red onion, sliced into thick rounds
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced
• 3 sprigs thyme, leaves picked
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 100ml extra virgin olive oil
• Sea-salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, to season
• 1L chicken stock
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 150ml pure cream
• 6 rashers rindless smoked bacon, finely chopped
• Handful flat-leaf parsley leaves, roughly chopped
• Sour cream, to swirl
• Sliced sourdough, to serve
Method
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Preheat oven to 180°C. Blanch tomatoes in boiling water for 30 seconds or until skins begin to come away. Drain, peel and discard skins. Put tomatoes, chilli, onion, garlic, thyme, paprika, fennel seeds, cumin on a large oven tray. Pour over oil, season and toss, then roast for 50 minutes.
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Put tomato mixture, stock and tomato paste in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Simmer for 25 minutes or until mixture thickens slightly. Blitz with stick blender until smooth. Stir in cream, remove from heat and season. Put lid on to keep warm.
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Meanwhile, put bacon in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Cook for 5 minutes or until crisp. Put on paper towel for 5 minutes to cool, then put in a bowl and mix in parsley.
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Put soup in bowls. Swirl in sour cream and bacon mixture. Serve with sourdough.
