Recipe Inspiration

Ingredients...

10ml olive oil 
    
50g onion, chopped

10g garlic cloves, chopped

50g leeks, chopped

50g celery, chopped

50g carrots, chopped

1 bay leaf

1 sprig of thyme (picked from the stem)

10g tomato puree

250g chopped tinned tomatoes

750ml water

20g Essential Cuisine Vegetable Stock mix

10g basil leaves

A good twist of freshly ground pepper

Sea salt, season to your taste

For the garnish:

30ml olive oil

100g courgette, diced

100g aubergine, diced

100g sweet peppers, diced

200g Spanish chorizo, diced

Method...

1. Heat oil in a suitable saucepan, add the chopped onions, garlic, leeks, celery and carrots, fry gently until they are tender with not too much colour. Add the bay leaf and thyme. Stir in the tomato puree and the tomatoes (tinned or fresh).
   
   
2. Stir in the water and stock mix, bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are softened. When cooked, remove the bay leaf, stir in the basil leaves and blend the soup in a liquidiser or with a stick blender until smooth. Pass through a sieve into a clean pan.
   
   
3. Preheat the oven to 200˚c. Heat the oil in a suitable frying pan on a high heat, fry the courgettes, aubergine and sweet peppers in batches until golden brown. Repeat with the chorizo, place the vegetables and chorizo into a roasting tray and finish cooking in the oven until the vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.
   
   
4. Reheat the soup and stir in the vegetable and chorizo garnish, simmer for a few minutes, serve in warm bowls with fresh crusty bread and extra virgin olive oil.