Spicy Tomato Soup

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Fried onion

1. 1
   Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F).

   ⚙ Preheating the OvenOven

   💡Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
2. 2
   Halve the tomatoes and arrange them in a baking pan.

   KnifeCutting boardBaking pan
3. 3
   Roast the tomatoes in a hot oven (200°C / 390°F) 20 minutes, until they soften and concentrate.

   ⚙ Oven roastingOvenBakeware

   💡Give it room in the pan: crowded vegetables steam instead of browning.
4. 4
   Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStoveLarge pot
5. 5
   Add the onion and fry 8 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and translucent and starts to turn golden at the edges. If it browns too fast, lower the heat.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
6. 6
   Add the garlic and fry about 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Garlic burns quickly and turns bitter. Add it only after the onion has softened, over medium heat, and add the next ingredient as soon as it smells fragrant.

To assemble

1. 7
   Add the cumin, hot paprika and smoked paprika and stir 1 minute.
2. 8
   Add the vegetables, stock and tomato paste and bring to a boil.

   Stove
3. 9
   Turn down the heat and simmer 15 minutes, until the vegetables is completely tender.

   ⚙ SimmeringStove

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
4. 10
   Blend with an immersion blender until smooth and creamy.

   Stick blender
5. 11
   Season with salt and black pepper.
6. 12
   Sprinkle the leaves over each bowl.