Penguin Books Australia

Free recipe from The Country Cookbook by Belinda Jeffery, Roasted Summer Vegetable Soup, page 56.

Makes 8-10 small serves

2 medium-sized eggplants (aubergines) - about 800 g in total - halved lengthways
1 large red onion, skin on, quartered
100 ml extra virgin olive oil
3 large red capsicums (peppers), quartered and cored
3 large ripe tomatoes, cored and halved
2 large cloves garlic, unpeeled but pricked with a fine skewer
1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
leaves from 5 large thyme sprigs
1 small red chilli, finely chopped
about 1 litre cool water, to cover
3 teaspoons sea salt flakes, or more to taste
about 1/4 cup (60 ml) lemon juice, or more to taste

If we are making a meal of this I often sit torn rocket leaves in the bottom of the bowls to add a bit of ‘green' to the proceedings. There is no end of ways to garnish it, depending on how sophisticated or simple you would like it to be. I like to finish with a slice of avocado and a scattering of tiny basil leaves, and occasionally I crumble goat's cheese over the soup (a few chunks in the bottom of the bowls are good too).

• Preheat your oven to 200°C. Line two large baking trays with baking paper.
• Put the eggplant and onion into a large bowl and mix them with 50 ml of the olive oil so they're lightly coated in it. Sit the eggplant halves, cut-side down, on one baking tray and strew the onion quarters around them.
• Now combine the capsicum, tomato, garlic and remaining olive oil in the bowl and mix well. Spread this mixture on the other tray, sitting the capsicum pieces skinside up, and the tomatoes cut-side up.
• Pop both trays in the oven and roast the vegetables for about 30 minutes, or until they're tender and wrinkled-looking. Remove them from the oven and let them cool down a bit. As soon as they are cool enough to handle, peel away as much skin as you can from the eggplant, onion, capsicum and tomato - it may not all come away easily but most will. Gently squeeze the skins of the garlic cloves to pop out the buttery flesh. (I do all the peeling and squeezing over the trays to catch any juices from the veggies.) Set aside three pieces of capsicum for garnishing.
• Warm the extra 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, then stir in the thyme and chilli. Scrape the skinned vegetables into the pan, along with any of their juices, and stir well to coat them in the oil and herbs. Add about 1 litre of cool water (enough to cover) and 3 teaspoons of salt. Bring the mixture to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
• Leave the soup to cool slightly, then purée it in batches in a blender (or use a stick blender, which is much easier). Pour the soup into a large bowl, taste it, then add enough lemon juice to sharpen it slightly, and more salt if it needs it - I find it usually does to bring out the flavours of the vegetables. Cover it tightly and chill it for an hour or two. (It actually keeps really well for 5 days or so in the fridge - just let it warm up a bit at room temperature before serving it.) As cold can mute the flavour, it's a good idea to taste the soup again before you serve it in case it needs a bit more seasoning.
• To serve the soup, ladle it into small bowls. Slice the reserved pieces of roasted capsicum into fine strips and sprinkle some over the top of each bowl.