Tomato and sweet chili pepper soup with smashed basil and olive oil. This one has become my latest most favorite recipe. I love it. It's simple, but fun to make, healthy and tastes awesome. It is straight out of Jamie Oliver's first book "The Naked Chef". I use tinned tomato's, but his recipe called for 15 ripe plum tomatoes, blanched, peeled and de-seeded. It would probably be even better his way. You have to buy this book, it's full of great stuff like this.

• Ingredients
  2 Tins of peeled whole Italian tomatoes roughly chopped	3 medium red capsicum's
  7 tablespoons of a good extra virgin olive oil.	1 large red chili, chopped and deseeded
  1 clove garlic finley chopped	2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
  500ml chicken stock	2 handfuls fresh basil leaves

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grill the capsicums whole until really black, rest in a covered bowl, then peel and finley chop. Put the chopped capsicum in a warmed thick bottomed pot or pan with 2 tablespoons of a really good extra virgin olive oil and the chopped chilli. Add a pinch of salt and fry slowly for about 5 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and cook for a further two minutes. Then add the roughly chopped tomatoes and cook for about another 10 minutes with the red wine vinegar. Add the stock and simmer for another 15 minutes.

In a pestle and mortar smash the basil to a pulp with a pinch of salt. Stir in the remaining olive oil and a drop more red wine vinegar. Give the soup a bit of a wizz with a Bamix, serve and drizzle the basil mixture over each bowl.