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Rich, velvety, and deeply warming. The kind of soup that earns its place in the permanent rotation. Red pepper and tomato soup is about to become one of your favourites.

This is the soup that proves simple ingredients and a hot oven can produce something genuinely spectacular. Sweet roasted peppers, jammy tomatoes, a whole head of garlic – all blended into something silky and rich that tastes like it took far more effort than it did. The grilled cheese on the side is non-negotiable.

Makes roughly 4 portions | Prep time: 15 mins | Cook time: 45 mins

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How to make Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese

Ingredients:

For the soup: 6 salad tomatoes (halved) 250g cherry tomatoes (left whole), 5 – 6 mixed bell peppers (deseeded and roughly chopped), 2 white onions (roughly chopped), 1 whole head of garlic, generous glug of olive oil, 600ml chicken stock, 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper, 3 – 4 tbsp double cream

For the grilled cheese: 4 slices of sourdough, salted butter, grated mature cheddar (generously grated)

To serve: Drizzle of double cream and fresh basil

Method:

Roast the vegetables. Preheat your oven to 200°C. Tip the tomatoes, peppers and onions onto a large roasting tray. Slice the top off the whole garlic head to expose the cloves and nestle it in amongst the vegetables. Drizzle everything generously with olive oil, season well with salt and pepper and roast for roughly 35 – 40 minutes until everything is soft, slightly caramelised and smelling incredible.

Make the soup. Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their skins directly into a large pot – they’ll be soft and jammy and completely transformed. Add all the roasted vegetables and the chicken stock and blend until smooth. Bring to a gentle simmer for five minutes, then add the Worcestershire sauce. Stir through the double cream, taste and adjust the seasoning.

Make the grilled cheese. Butter both sides of each sourdough slice and fill generously with grated cheddar. Cook in a dry frying pan over a medium heat, pressing down gently, until deeply golden on both sides and the cheese is completely melted.

To serve. Ladle your delicious roasted red pepper and tomato soup into bowls, add a swirl of cream and a few fresh basil leaves. Serve immediately with the grilled cheese alongside for dunking. Minimum effort, maximum enjoyment.

A few notes:

Roasting the vegetables rather than frying them is what gives this soup its depth. Don’t be tempted to shortcut it. The caramelisation is everything.

The whole roasted garlic is a game changer here. It loses all of its sharpness in the oven and becomes sweet and mellow; completely different to raw garlic and absolutely worth doing.

This freezes brilliantly without the cream – add it fresh when you reheat.