Cream of Tomato Soup

Ingredients:
10oz tomatoes
3 shallots - finely chopped
1/2 a stick of celery - finely chopped
1/2 a red pepper - finely chopped
3/4pt vegetable stock (I used one stock cube)
1tbsp tomato puree
100ml single cream 

Method: 
Plunge the tomatoes into boiling water for one minute, drain, then remove and discard the skins
Place the tomatoes into a blender/chopper and blend for a few seconds until smooth
Place the finely chopped shallots, celery and pepper into a saucepan with a small amount of boiling water and cook for a few minutes to soften
Add the tomatoes and vegetable stock, bring up to the boil and then simmer for 10 minutes 
Add in the tomato puree and continue to simmer for a further 5 minutes 
Remove from the heat and blend/liquidise the soup until smooth
Return to a clean pan, add in the single cream and heat through gently, don't boil

Serves two

Served with a garnish of fresh home-grown basil 

Tomatoes from one neighbour's greenhouse, shallots from another neighbour's allotment

Don't overfill the blender/liquidiser with soup, it is better to do a few smaller batches so that the hot liquid does not splash

If a really smooth soup is required, after blending strain through a sieve before returning to the pan