Chunky Mediterranean tomato soup

Use roasted vegetables in this speedy, low calorie soup – we used peppers, aubergines, onions and courgettes. Serve with herby ricotta-topped rye bread

Prep:10 mins
Cook:25 mins

Serves 4
Easy

Nutrition per serving

kcal 212
fat 7g
saturates 4g
carbs 24g
sugars 4g
fibre 6g
protein 11g
salt 1.5g

Ingredients

400g frozen grilled vegetable mix (peppers, aubergine, onions, courgettes)
2 tbsp chopped garlic
handful basil leaves
400g can chopped tomatoes
1 reduced-salt vegetable stock cube
50g ricotta per person, beaten with snipped chives and basil, spread on a slice of rye bread

Tip

Make your chunky Mediterranean soup differently

Create a speedy minestrone instead. Follow the recipe, above, but replace the basil and tomatoes with a 500g carton passata (and 2 cartons water) and 3 tbsp pesto, and use mixed garden vegetables (carrots, peas, beans, corn) instead of the grilled ones. There is no need to pre-fry or blitz the soup, just tip everything into a pan with 50g snapped wholewheat spaghetti and boil for 12 mins. (Omit the ricotta and bread.) (Nutrition per serving: 183 kcals, protein 7g, carbs 21g, fat 6g, sat fat 1g, fibre 3g, sugar 10g, salt 1.4g).

Method

Heat a large non-stick pan, tip in half the vegetables and the garlic, and cook, stirring, over a high heat until they start to soften – about 5 mins. Tip in the basil, tomatoes, stock cube and 2 cans of water, then blitz with a hand blender to get the mixture as smooth as you can.
Add the remaining frozen veg, cover the pan and cook for 15-20 mins more until the veg is tender. Ladle into bowls. Serve with the herby ricotta on rye bread.