Roasted Red Pepper Soup

A delicious, light, tangy soup, very quick to prepare

Serves 8-10

15ml/ 1 tbsp olive oil

1 large leek, chopped

1 small head celery (or about 8 sticks), chopped

1 jar roasted red peppers (400g drained weight)

1 tin chopped tomatoes (400g)

Large pinch dried mixed herbs

½ tsp Sweetener (eg Stevia, xylitol, Splenda) or sugar

2 vegetable stock cubes dissolved in 1000-1200ml boiling water

Freshly ground sea salt and black pepper to taste

Handful fresh basil leaves

Crème Fraiche / 0% fat Greek yoghurt to garnish (optional)

1. First prepare the leek and celery, heat the oil in a large pot and sweat over a medium heat for 4-5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, drain and roughly chop the red peppers. Add to the pot along with the tomatoes, dried herbs and stock. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 10 minutes until vegetables are soft. Turn off the heat.
3. Liquidise and add freshly ground sea salt and black pepper to taste. The addition of sweetener or sugar eliminates a slightly bitter taste from the peppers, you will note the difference if you add it at this point and taste again.
4. Add basil leaves and liquidise again.
5. Serve soup with a tiny dollop (½tsp) of crème fraiche or 0% fat Greek yoghurt if you want a little luxury!