Best Ever Tomato Soup

It's November, the clocks have gone back, the weather is miserable and it's cold....what we need is soup!

There's something very comforting about the smell of soup as it's cooking, very homely and warming. Served with a chunk of good bread and maybe a piece of cheese, there's nothing to beat it; the perfect lunch.

I've called this soup 'Best Ever Tomato' because I genuinely think it is. I've made many different variations of tomato soup over the years, and after much experimenting I've found this is the one that really hits the spot. I guarantee you'll never open a tin of Heinz again.

1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp oil from a jar of sunblush tomatoes
6 sunblush tomatoes
2 tins tomatoes
500ml vegetable stock
1 tsp sugar
½ tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp crème fraiche (see note below)
Pesto (optional)

Soften the onion and garlic in the oil over a low heat. Add the sunblush tomatoes, tinned tomatoes, stock, sugar and oregano then bring to the boil. Break up the tinned tomatoes a bit with the back of a wooden spoon then turn the heat down and simmer gently for 15 minutes.
Take the pan off the heat and add the crème fraiche, then blitz with a stick blender, adding a little more stock if necessary. Serve with a teaspoon of pesto on top and an extra blob of crème fraiche if you like.

NB. Be sure to use full-fat crème fraiche; the low-fat one will split when you add it to the hot soup.

Serves 4