Autumn Vegetable Soup With Cheesy Toasts Food

AUTUMN VEGETABLE SOUP WITH CHEESY TOAST

Steps:

• 1. Put the vegetables into a large saucepan with the garlic, rosemary, stock and sugar. Season well, stir, bring to a simmer and cover. Cook gently for 15 mins or until the vegetables are just tender. 2. Heat the grill to high. Cook the tomatoes and whizz in a food processor or blender until smooth, then tip into vegetables with chickpeas and parsley. Gently heat through, stirring now and then. 3. For the toasts, rub both sides of the bread with the garlic. Grill on one side until golden, turn the bread over, cover with cheese and grill until it's bubbling. Serve at once with the piping hot soup.

FRESH TOMATO SOUP WITH CRISPY CHEESE TOAST

Steps:

• Remove cores from tomatoes and cut in half crosswise. Reserve until needed.
• Heat olive oil and butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and anchovy and cook until garlic is sizzling in the hot fat, 45 seconds to 1 minute. Carefully add the tomatoes with their juices, salt, and red pepper flakes. Toss with a spoon every few minutes until the tomatoes release their liquid and start to break down.
• Once the tomatoes have softened and start to collapse, reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes have fallen apart and the soup resembles a coarse tomato sauce, about 45 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with foil or a silicone liner. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil.
• Place the bread slices on the prepared baking sheet. Top each slice with sliced basil, and then Cheddar cheese.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the cheese is well browned and crispy around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.
• Remove soup from heat and pass through a mesh strainer into a bowl. Use the back of a ladle to push all the tomato mixture through. Discard the skins and seeds, which should be the only things left in the strainer.
• Transfer the strained tomato soup back into the saucepan and place back over medium-low heat. Continue cooking to thicken slightly, if desired, or simply bring back to a simmer and serve immediately with the cheese toasts.

CHUNKY ROOT VEGETABLE SOUP WITH CHEESY PESTO TOASTS

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a large heavy-based saucepan. Add the shallots and cook for 5 mins until soft, then add the garlic and cook for 1 min more. Pour in the wine and simmer until reduced, then add the vegetables and cook for 2-3 mins.
• Pour in the stock, bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for about 20 mins until the vegetables are soft. Meanwhile, to make the pesto, mix all the ingredients together with enough olive oil to make a thickish paste. Season.
• To make the toasts, put the grated cheese in a bowl and mix together with 2-3 tsp of the pesto. Heat grill. Put the ciabatta slices under the grill and toast on both sides. Remove, top with the herby cheese mixture, then grill until melted.
• Season the soup well and serve with the cheesy pesto toasts and remaining pesto, for drizzling.