Mary Berry's tomato soup is a quick, easy and delicious midweek meal, ready in just 10 minutes. The celebrated chef, known for her baking, also excels at savoury dishes, and this warming soup uses only a few everyday store cupboard ingredients.
The recipe comes from Mary Berry's Foolproof Cooking programme. BBC Food commented: "Mary Berry's tomato soup is quick, easy and delicious." It added: "In fact, it is one of her favourite family recipes, as she always has the ingredients in the cupboard. With no onions to chop or tomatoes to skin, it really is ready in ten minutes!"
Ingredients for the 10-Minute 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 and freshly ground black pepper to taste, and three to four teaspoons of pesto (optional).
The soup can be served with crusty bread for a cosy evening meal or enjoyed alone as a light lunch.
How to Make Mary Berry's Tomato Soup
To start, heat a large, deep saucepan over a medium heat and pour in one tablespoon of oil from the jar of sun-dried tomatoes. While the oil warms, finely chop the garlic and add it to the pan. Stir-fry the garlic for a few seconds, stirring constantly, until fragrant and just starting to turn a light golden colour.
Then add the sun-dried tomatoes and tinned tomatoes to the pan, followed by the stock and sugar. Mix all the ingredients together thoroughly. Turn up the heat slightly and bring the mixture to a gentle boil, stirring frequently.
Once boiling, season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Give it another thorough stir, then place a lid on the pan. Turn the heat down to low and leave the soup to simmer gently for around 10 minutes. This allows the tomatoes to break down further and the flavours to meld together.
Finishing and Serving the Soup
After 10 minutes, take the pan off the heat and blitz the soup until smooth using a stick blender. Once blended, stir the milk and cream through until fully incorporated. Place the pan back on a low heat and warm the soup through slowly, stirring from time to time. Sample and adjust the seasoning with a touch more salt and pepper if required.
Once piping hot and pleasingly creamy, ladle the soup into bowls. To serve, swirl half a teaspoon of pesto across the surface of each bowl just before bringing to the table.
