This hearty and flavourful soup recipe hits every flavour high note, combining smoky aubergine, sweet red peppers, and jammy roasted tomatoes, with added aromatic depth from dry sherry, tarragon, and all spice. Each soul-soothing spoonful is a burst of Mediterranean sunshine, making it a perfect choice for a chilly winter evening or impressive dinner party starter served alongside freshly-baked rosemary focaccia.
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Yields:
6 - 8 serving(s)
Prep Time:
40 mins
Cook Time:
1 hr 30 mins
Total Time:
2 hrs 10 mins
Cal/Serv:
200
Ingredients
4
small aubergines, about 275g (10oz) each
Oil spray
1
large red onion, quartered
2
heads garlic, left whole, outer skins removed and pointed ends trimmed
2
red peppers, halved and deseeded
700g
(11⁄2lb) ripe tomatoes, on the vine
2 x 400 g cans Italian tomatoes in tomato juice, drained and juice reserved
1.1 litres (2 pints) vegetable stock
50ml
(2fl oz) dry sherry
1⁄2 level tsp dried tarragon, crumbled
Pinch of allspice
Chopped flat-leafed parsley to garnish
Directions
Step 1
Prick the aubergines in several places with a sharp knife. Spray two large roasting tins with the oil spray. Put the aubergines, onion, garlic, peppers and ripe tomatoes in the tins. Roast at 220°C (425°F) mark 7 for 40-60min or until the vegetables are very soft. Turn the peppers once or twice and swap the position of the roasting tins halfway through the cooking time.
Step 2
Remove from the oven and allow to cool. (The peppers should be charred in places, the garlic soft within its skin and the tomatoes should have collapsed.)
Step 3
Cut the stems from the aubergines, peel off the skins and roughly chop the flesh. Squeeze the garlic flesh from the skins. Skin the tomatoes, squeeze out the seeds and juice and discard. Peel the peppers. In batches, whiz the vegetables and canned tomatoes in a food processor or blender until smooth.
Step 4
Put the purée in a pan with the stock, tomato juice, sherry, tarragon, allspice, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bring to the boil. Simmer, partially covered, for 30min, stirring occasionally.
Step 5
Serve piping hot in individual bowls garnished with parsley.
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
