30 minute lunch - Tomato, parsley & bread soup

Winter lunches are all about soup for me. I don't like eating salads when it's cold, I need that warm & full in the tummy feeling. Since making my own soups I'm more and more disappointed with the range in supermarkets here, and miss the delicious Covent Garden soups from the UK. Don't think Coles will be stocking them anytime soon though.

I modified this recipe from Marion Grasby's stunning new book, Recipes and stories from a hungry cook.  The layout is so enticing, and I'm enjoying reading about the thai recipes, and where they come from. She's incredibly talented, and I hope she is able to outgrow the Masterchef label that is placed on her.

Thanks Warringah library - I would be bankrupt without you supplying me with new cookbooks!

Surprisingly enough, I didn't have tinned tomatoes in my pantry today, so I used fresh.  I love that Marion suggests using tinned, this makes it a soup that would easily come from ingredients already in the kitchen, rather than needing to make a trip to the shops.

Ingredients:

1kg fresh tomatoes or 3 tins of tomatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
3 garlic cloves, finely diced
1 handful of basil or other fresh herbs (I used parsley)
2 slices stale bread
2 teaspoons white sugar
Parmesan to serve
Salt & pepper to taste

Method:

Heat the garlic in the olive for about a minute in a saucepan.  Then add the tomatoes and leave to simmer for half an hour or so to develop their flavour.
After this time, taste and add sugar and salt as necessary.  Then tear the bread and add it to the soup, then finally adding fresh herbs.
Can be served immediately with parmesan and fresh herbs to garnish.