Roasted Red Pepper, Tomato & Lentil Soup

Ingredients

• 1 onion
• 4 large tomatoes (about 450g / 1 lb)
• 2 red peppers
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 tsp mixed herbs
• 75 g red lentils
• 500 ml vegetable stock (2 cups)

Instructions

1. 1

   Peel the onions and roughly chop. Peel the garlic and cut any large cloves in half.

2. 2

   Cut the tomatoes into quarters or halves, depending on size.

3. 3

   Cut the peppers into chunks, discarding the core, seeds, and stalk.

4. 4

   Spread the onion, tomatoes, peppers and garlic out in a large roasting pan. Add a generous sprinkling of the dried herbs, salt and pepper, and drizzle the oil over.

5. 5

   Put the pan in the oven and roast the vegetables at GM 6 / 400°F / 180°C (fan) for 35 minutes until soft and starting to brown.

6. 6

   While the vegetables are cooking, put the lentils and the stock into a large pan and simmer over a low heat for about 20 minutes, until the lentils are soft and mushy.

7. 7

   Add the roasted vegetables to the cooked lentils, giving the roasting pan a good scrape. Then blend the soup soup with a stick blender (or in the food processor or blender) until smooth. Add a little extra stock if the soup is too thick. Then season to taste.

8. 8

   Serve as is, or garnish with seeds and chopped fresh herbs or a swirl of yogurt or cream.