We are well into soup season and with the amount of the stuff that I’ve already consumed it’s inevitable that I’d start to tire of some of the standard options, but there are certain classics whose appeal never seems to fade. Tomato soup was a fixture of my childhood, a feature player at many mealtimes, usually paired with a grilled cheese sandwich. And yet for as often as I’d eat it, as many lunches as I’d sipped away at this simple substance, it somehow always still felt special.

Because tomato soup holds a special nostalgia for me, I felt it deserved to be spiced up a little, given a makeover that pulls out and emphasises its best aspects.  And well, what’s a quick way to spice up your tomato soup?  With Red Peppers of course.  The two flavours meld and complement each other beautifully, while that warm and comforting sensation of a childhood favourite still remains. 

Ingredients
2 x Red Bell Peppers, diced
5 x small Red Vine Tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup+1 tbsp of olive oil
20 grams (about 2 tbsps.) of thyme leaves
3 tsps + 2 tsps of salt (black salt if you have it)
1 x yellow onion, peeled and diced
2 tsps of garlic powder
2 tbsp of tomato paste
1 tsp of black pepper
1 cup of vegetable broth

Directions
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.  In a mixing bowl, mix the 2 diced peppers and 5 diced tomatoes with 1/4 cup of olive oil and the 20 grams of thyme leaves.  
3.  Spread out the vegetables evenly on a baking tray and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
4.  In a large pot, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat.  Add the diced onion and cook until it starts to caramelize (5-10 minutes).  Add the 2 tsp of garlic.  Cook for a few more minutes and then add the roasted vegetables.  Then add the 1 cup of vegetable broth, 1 tsp of pepper, and 2 tbsps of tomato paste.  Depending on the broth your using, you made not need to add salt.  A lot of store-bought broths have an insane amount of salt in them.  I used a low sodium broth, so I added about 2 tsps of salt.  Cook for another 20 minutes over medium heat.
5.  Transfer the soup to a blender, or use an immersion blender and puree the soup until smooth.