Alphabet Tomato Soup Fresh Basil & Cheddar Cheese

The idea of this recipe is to get it all cooking fast, then let the heat do the work, giving a soup with a taste that will immediately remind you of that incredible smell of tomatoes growing in a greenhouse. Peel the onions, trim the carrots and celery, then chop into 2cm chunks and chuck into a large
casserole pan on a medium-high heat with 1 tablespoon of oil. Deseed and add the chilli, then squash and add the whole unpeeled garlic cloves. Pick the baby basil leaves into a cup of cold water, then add the rest of the bunch (stalks and all – for massive extra flavour) to the pan. Wash and add the whole
tomatoes (stalks, vines and all). Stir for 5 minutes, then cover with 2 litres of water. Boil fast for 40 minutes, then turn the heat off.

Set up another pan alongside the soup with a coarse sieve in it. Ladle the chunky soup into the sieve, really crushing and pushing all that goodness through, leaving just the stalks and skins behind, which you can discard as you go. Bring up to the boil, stir in the pasta and simmer until it’s just cooked, then taste the soup and season to perfection. Serve sprinkled with grated cheese and the baby basil leaves.

Lovely leftovers: If you’re not serving up all four portions at once, you’ll find that left overnight in the fridge, the pasta sucks up even more of the soup, making it the perfect topping for a nice piece of wholemeal toast.

Calories 487kcal – Fat 13.2g – Sat Fat 5.4g – Protein 18.7g – Carbs 78.3g – Sugar 22.5g – Salt 0.6g – Fibre 18.7g – 3 Portions Veg & Fruit

Super Food Family Classics by Jamie Oliver is published by Penguin Random House

ⓒ Jamie Oliver Enterprises Limited (2016 Super Food Family Classics) Photographer: Jamie Oliver