Warming Red Pepper Soup With Cheesy Garlic Ciabatta

Preheat the oven to 190°C/ 170°C (fan)/ gas 5

Peel your red onion[s] and cut into wedges

Deseed your pepper[s] (scrape the seeds and pith out with a teaspoon) and chop into large chunks

Crush half your garlic (you'll use the rest later!) open by squashing with the side of a knife and discard the skin

Boil a kettle

Heat a pot (with a matching lid) over a medium-high heat with a little vegetable oil

Add the chopped pepper, onion wedges and crushed garlic and cook for 8-10 min or until the vegetables are golden

Once softened, reduce the heat to medium and add your ground smoked paprika and cook for 1-2 min or until fragrant

While the vegetables are cooking, dissolve your vegetable stock mix in 400ml [600ml] [800ml] boiled water and add your chopped tomatoes – this is your tomato stock

Once fragrant, add your tomato stock and cook for 10 min or until the vegetables are soft

Grate your lighter cheese

Finely chop (or grate) your remaining garlic

Roughly chop your basil

Combine the grated cheese, chopped garlic and half the chopped basil (you'll use the rest later!) in a bowl with a knob of butter and mix it all together until a paste is formed – this is your garlic basil butter

Slice your ciabatta[s] in half and spread the garlic basil butter evenly on the cut sides of the ciabatta

Add to one side of a baking tray (or two!) with your pine kernel & seed mix and bake for 7-8 min or until the cheese is melted and the seeds are golden

Tip: Watch them like a hawk to make sure they don't burn!

Once the vegetables are soft, take the pot off the heat and blitz together until smooth with a (stick) blender

Return the pot to the heat, add a generous pinch of salt and pepper and cook for 1-2 min or until warmed through – this is your warming red pepper soup