If you have been following this blog at all, then you might remember that Country Boy gets a bit carried away with his vegetable garden during the summer. Last summer we were totally swamped with fresh produce and spend all our spare moments trying to store as much as possible for the rest of the year.

In February, Country Boy roasted off a heap of tomatoes, bunged them in a bag, and shoved them in the freezer, where they have stayed. I was writing our monthly menu plan last week when he reminded me that they were still there. In winter, what could be better than a home made tomato soup.

If you don’t have access to lots of lovely tomatoes right now, you can always pin this recipe and come back next year when you are inundated with them!

Ingredients
1 onion
3 garlic cloves
30ml olive oil
60ml (2 T) tomato paste
1kg tomatoes – roast in the oven for about 20 minutes at 200*c, until starting to collapse
3 fresh bay leaves
500ml vegetable stock (you could use chicken stock instead)
1t sugar
200ml cream

Method
1. Dice the onion and chop the garlic.
2. In a heavy based saucepan, heat the olive oil on a low heat and then sweat the onion and garlic until it is soft and clear (about 10 minutes).
3. Stir through the tomato paste and cook for a minute.
4. Add in the tomatoes, bay leaves, stock and sugar.
5. Simmer for 30 minutes to create a depth of flavour.
6. Remove the bay leaves, and then puree.
7. If you want a super smooth soup, pass the puree through a sieve (skip this step if you don’t mind a chunkier soup).
8. Stir through the cream and then reheat.
9. Adjust the seasoning and serve.

Perfect for a lazy Saturday night!