Spicy Roasted Eggplant Soup

Remember that amazing Spicy Roasted Eggplant Soup I had while I was walking St Cuthbert’s Way?

Well, after two attempts, here’s my best guess on how to make it.

The best bit about this recipe is that the eggplant is pureed which means my kids slurped this soup down without blinking.

Shhhh! Don’t tell.

Spicy Roasted Eggplant (or Aubergine) Soup

4 eggplants

3 red peppers

6 cloves garlic

3 onions

2 red (hot) chili peppers

1 quart vegetable broth

1 14 oz can chopped tomatoes

olive oil

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon oregano

2 tablespoons chopped, fresh basil (plus extra leaves for serving)

cayenne pepper to taste

salt and pepper to taste

Slice eggplants longways.

On two well-oiled baking sheets, place eggplants face down. Put all other veggies on the baking sheets whole. (Leave onions and garlic cloves in their skins)

Bake at 425 degrees F for 45 minutes, or until eggplant is soft and peppers are charred. Turn onions and peppers once or twice while baking.

Let veggies cool. Peel red peppers. Pop onions and garlic cloves out of their skins and scrape eggplant out of skins with a spoon. Put all the roasted vegetables in a large pot and add vegetable broth and tomatoes and herbs. Use an emulsifying hand held blender to puree soup as you bring it to a simmer.

Note: Because all chili peppers are not created equal, taste your soup to see if it has enough heat. Add a little cayenne if it does not seem spicy enough. We like it with a good little bit of kick!

Serve immediately with fresh basil, a drizzle of olive oil and brown bread.