Tomato Basil Soup

Last night we had a hearty tomato basil soup for dinner. As the recipe called for spaghetti too, it was pretty much a meal in itself. Here is how I went about it...

Ingredients

800 grams blanched and chopped tomatoes,

1 litre vegetable stock or water,

1 tbsp olive oil,

Some extra virgin olive oil for drizzling,

1 chopped red onion,

2 small red chillies (sliced),

100 grams spaghetti, snapped into halves,

¼ cup chopped black olives,

1 tbsp chopped drained capers,

A handful of fresh basil leaves, roughly torn,

Salt to taste

Method

Chopping the blanched tomatoes was a messy affair and I was so tempted to blend it, but I resisted the temptation. The chopped tomatoes gave a nice texture to the soup.

Heat the olive oil and add the chopped red onion and the red chillies. Let it sauté for about 5 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for another 5 minutes. Next add the vegetable stock or the water and let it come to a boil. Lower the heat and let it simmer for about 5 minutes.

Now add the spaghetti and let it simmer till it is just cooked. Stir in the olives, capers and basil. Serve hot or warm drizzled with the extra virgin olive oil.