Mary Berry's tomato soup is ready in just 10 minutes and uses only a handful of everyday store cupboard ingredients. The recipe, featured in her Foolproof Cooking series, is described by BBC Food as "quick, easy and delicious."
It is one of Berry's favourite family recipes because she always has the ingredients in the cupboard. With no onions to chop or tomatoes to skin, the soup really is ready in 10 minutes.
Ingredients for Mary Berry's tomato soup
To make the soup, you will need six sun-dried tomatoes in oil, two garlic cloves, three 400g tins of chopped tomatoes, 500ml of chicken or vegetable stock, one tablespoon of caster sugar, 150ml of full-fat milk, 150ml of double cream, salt to taste, freshly ground black pepper to taste, and three to four teaspoons of pesto (optional).
Method
Begin by heating a large, deep saucepan over a moderate heat and add one tablespoon of oil from the jar of sun-dried tomatoes. As the oil heats up, finely chop the garlic and tip it into the pan. Fry the garlic for a few seconds, stirring continuously, until aromatic and pale golden.
Add the sun-dried tomatoes and tinned tomatoes into the pan, then pour in the stock and sugar. Combine all the components thoroughly, making sure everything is well mixed. Increase the temperature slightly and bring the mixture to a light simmer, stirring regularly as it heats up.
When the soup comes to the boil, season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir everything together well, then cover the pan with a lid. Reduce the heat to low and let the soup bubble away gently for approximately 10 minutes, allowing the tomatoes to soften further and the flavours to combine.
Finishing touches
After 10 minutes, remove the pan from the heat and carefully blend the soup until silky smooth with a hand blender. When completely blended, stir in the milk and cream until thoroughly mixed. Return the pan to a low heat and gently warm the soup through, stirring occasionally. Taste and adjust the seasoning with a little more salt and freshly ground black pepper, if needed.
When thoroughly heated and luxuriously creamy, ladle the soup into bowls ready to serve. For a finishing flourish, drizzle half a teaspoon of pesto over the surface of each bowl just before serving.
