Cream of Tomato Soup with Souffléed Cheese Toasts

Ingredients for Cream of Tomato Soup with Souffléed Cheese Toasts

• 2 1/2 tablespoons butter

• 1 small onion, chopped

• 1 celery rib, chopped

• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil, crumbled between your fingers

• Pinch of ground cloves

• 2 tablespoons flour

• Two 425g cans diced tomatoes in puree or juice

• Pinch of bicarbonate of soda

• 600ml vegetable stock or water

• 350ml milk

• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

• Tomato paste if needed

• 1 egg, separated, or 1 egg white only

• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

• Pinch of cayenne

• 120g grated sharp Cheddar cheese

• 1 teaspoon minced spring onion or shallot

• 4 slices sandwich bread, lightly toasted

1. Melt the butter in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, basil, and cloves; cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is limp, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour, then add the tomatoes, bicarbonate of soda, and stock. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, partially covered, for 20 minutes. Let cool briefly, then puree in a blender until smooth

2. Preheat the oven to 204°C. Return the soup to the pot, add the milk, and season with salt. If the soup is too thick, thin it with additional milk or stock. If the tomato flavour isn't as rich as you'd like (if the tomatoes were packed in water instead of puree), deepen it by stirring in a little tomato paste.

3. For the toasts, combine the yolk, if you're using it, with the mustard and cayenne, then stir in the cheese. Whisk the white until it holds soft peaks and fold it into the mixture along with the spring onion. Spread the mixture on the toasted bread and bake until puffed and golden, about 5 minutes, while you reheat the soup. Serve the soup piping hot, with a piece of cheese toast, cut in half on the diagonal, and fresh pepper ground into each bowl.

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