A gorgeously vibrant plant-based soup with a fermented twist! This soup is a great winter warmer, with the oven handling most of the cooking. Serve with crispy, crunchy seeded toast drizzled with olive oil, or my personal favourite - a cheese toastie.
Cook’s tip: I’ve used vegan kimchi to keep this recipe plant-based, but be sure to check the label; traditional kimchi includes fish sauce.
Ingredients
1kg fresh plum tomatoes
2 red peppers
3 tbsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 medium onion, sliced
100-150g kimchi (plus extra for garnish)
150ml vegetable stock
4 tbsp oat cream (or regular cream or creme fraiche)
1 tbsp black sesame seeds (for garnish)
Method
Preheat your oven to 180°C (fan 160°C, gas mark 4).
Halve the tomatoes and arrange them cut-side up on a baking tray. Repeat with the peppers, removing the cores. Leave the peppers in halves or quarters as they’ll burn if they are cut too small. Drizzle with 2 tbsp olive oil and season with a pinch of salt and some black pepper. Give them a rub with your hands to distribute the oil.
Roast for 25-30 minutes, until the tomatoes and peppers are very soft and slightly caramelised. They won’t be cooked any further so make sure they’re cooked through.
Prepare the base: In a large saucepan, heat the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil over a low to medium heat. Add the sliced onion and sauté until soft and translucent, about 5–7 minutes.
Stir in the kimchi and cook for a few minutes until any liquid has evaporated and it smells fragrant. Leave to one side.
Add the tomatoes and peppers to a blender with the onion kimchi mix, add the vegetable stock and cream and blend the soup until smooth. Alternatively you can use a hand blender. Adjust the consistency with more stock or cream if needed.
Reheat the soup if needed and then ladle the soup into bowls. Garnish with a sprinkle of black sesame seeds, a spoonful of kimchi, and a drizzle of oat cream.
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