Arrabiata Soup

This is a really simple lift from my tried and tested Roasted Tomato and Basil Soup which is made embarrassingly often in our house.

The 'arrabiata' or angry element is the addition of fantastic fiery red chilli which makes for a warming, delicious soup ideal for a winter's day. You can remove the seeds of the chilli to reduce the heat but we prefer it hot!

The below makes enough for x2 large portions. 

Arrabiata Soup

Here's how:

• 500g tomatoes (can also use x1 tin chopped tomatoes)
• 1 red onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 large carrot
• 2 celery sticks
• 1 large red jalopeno chilli
• 800ml vegetable stock
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Black Pepper
• Basil stalks

To garnish:

• Grana Padana (or any other hard cheese)
• Basil leaves
• Black pepper

To begin whack the oven on at it's highest temperature. 

Halve the tomatoes and the red onion, peel the garlic cloves and place all on a baking sheet. Season and drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil then place into the oven on the high heat for 20 minutes or until everything is just charred (blackened) a little.

In the meantime, drizzle a little olive oil into a saucepan and place on a low heat.

Dice the carrot, slice the celery and the red chilli and add to the saucepan and allow to gently soften down - this is the base for your soup.

Once the tomatoes, onion and garlic are softened, add to the saucepan with a few basil stalks and pour over the vegetable stock. Season well and allow to cook for twenty minutes.

Remove from the heat, allow to cool right down then blitz until smooth. 

When wanting to serve, return to the heat and bring up to temperature slowly. 

Ladle into bowls and then if you like to, garnish with slithers of Grana Padana (I use a vegetable peeler for this) and a few basil leaves and season with a final flourish of black pepper. Enjoy!

Smoky Tomato Soup

I love a good, homemade soup and tomato is up there with my favourites - I often make Roasted Tomato and Basil Soup in the summer months, when tomatoes are ripe and full of flavour, but this version is something else entirely.

It has the background sweetness of a normal tomato soup but the roasted, charred flavour mixed with the paprika and the heat from a red chilli makes it smoky. spicy and completely moreish.

It's completely vegetarian too so great for serving to veggie guests - if you omit the cheese at the end it can also be vegan or plant-based.

The below makes three portions of soup and each bowl is around 240 calories when dressed with a little Grana Padano. 

Smoky Tomato Soup

Here's how:

• 600g tomatoes
• 1 white onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 red chilli
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 vegetable stock pot made up to around 750-800ml
• Pinch salt
• Black pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Few shavings of Grana Padano

Firstly place onto a high heat of 200 degrees. 

Roughly chop the tomatoes into quarters and throw onto a baking tray. Season generously and pour over the olive oil. Place into the oven for 20 minutes, or until just beginning to char.

In the meantime prepare the base of the soup by finely dicing an onion, mincing a clove of garlic and slicing a chilli and gently frying in a drizzle of olive oil. 

Once the onion mixture is soft, add the paprika and oregano. 

Once the tomatoes are ready, pop them into the pot with the onions and mix through. 

Pour over the vegetable stock and give another seasoning of black pepper and allow to cook away for fifteen minutes.

Blitz the soup off the heat, return to the pan to warm through and serve with a couple of shavings of the Grana Padano. Enjoy!

A few other soup recipes that you might like:

Chunky Lentil & Kale Soup

Asparagus Soup with Crispy Bacon

Curried Parsnip and Spinach Soup

Red Pepper Soup

Quick Pork Noodle Soup

Restorative Green Soup

Winter Vegetable Soup

Thai Sweet Potato Soup

Skinny Broccoli & Fennel Soup

Mexican Mushroom Soup

Roasted Tomato and Basil Soup

There is something incredibly comforting about a homemade tomato soup, and this version, with roasted tomatoes, really is a winner. Gorgeous in the summer with fresh, ripe tomatoes - in my case from my Dad's allotment, it's such a treat and so easy to make - it beats any shop-bought versions hands down.

Roasting the tomatoes, intensifies the flavour and gives that lovely, slightly charred, smoky element that makes for a delicious tasting bowl.

This is great for a family meal, with some hunks of fresh, crusty, buttered bread, or a simple light lunch alone too.

If you are watching your calorie or fat intake, simply omit from adding the crème fraiche or the Parmigiana shavings.

Roasted Tomato and Basil Soup



Here's how:

• 600g fresh tomatoes
• 1 carrot
• 1 stick celery
• 1 white onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• Pinch salt
• Pinch garlic salt
• Pinch black pepper
• Pinch sugar
• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 1.5 pints vegetable stock
• 2 tbsp. crème fraiche
• Handful basil leaves and stalks
• Handful Parmigiana shavings to scatter over the soup

Firstly pre-heat the oven to 180-200. Place the tomatoes into a baking dish. I used a mixture here and halved the larger ones, putting them skin side down. Drizzle over 2 tbsp. of olive oil - use a good quality if you have it, it will make a difference. Now scatter over the tomatoes the garlic salt, oregano, sugar and black pepper and place into the oven for about an hour, or until juice has been exuded from the tomatoes and they are slightly charred - but not blackened.

Tomatoes pre-roasting



Roasted tomatoes



In the meantime prepare the 'base' of the soup, by firstly peeling and dicing the onion and mincing the garlic. Peeling and chopping up the carrot into small pieces and slicing the celery. All of this can be added to a heavy-bottomed pan with a tablespoon more of olive oil and placed onto a low heat until all has been softened, about five minutes. Then turn off the heat and set aside until the tomatoes are roasted.


Place the tomatoes, and any escaping juice in the dish into the saucepan now, and make up the vegetable stock, then pour over. Place the basil stalks into the soup and season liberally with black pepper and sea salt. Now place back on the heat and cook for 30 minutes then remove from the heat and allow to cool

Blitz to a smooth texture and return to the heat. Just before serving add the crème fraiche and most of the basil leaves and stir through, and once dished up into soup bowls, add the shavings of cheese and a few extra basil leaves for garnish. Enjoy!

Some other soup recipes you may enjoy:


Asparagus and Crispy Bacon Soup
Red Pepper Soup
Vegetable Soup
Curried Parsnip and Spinach Soup
Chicken Noodle Soup with Pak Choi Soup
Thai Sweet Potato Soup
Chunky Lentil Bacon and Kale Soup
Winter Vegetable Soup
Quick Pork Noodle Soup
Skinny Broccoli and Fennel Soup
Creamy Mushroom Soup without Cream