Another immune booster

Roast tomato, fennel and chickpea soup (serves 4)

(Adapted from: All Fratelli, Barry Mc Donald)

Ingredients

2 fennel bulbs (trimmed)

Extra virgin olive oil

800g of tinned tomatoes

1 fresh long chilli (cut off the stem)

1 onion, finely chopped

2-3 cloves of garlic, finely sliced

1 bunch fresh basil, leaves picked

1.5L (6 cups) of vegetable stock

400g tin of chickpeas (drained and well washed)

Method

Heat oven to 200^oC.

Cut each fennel bulb into quarters. Leave the core in.

Then cut each quarter into 3 wedges.

Add a little oil to the baking tray and spread it over the surface. Put fennel and the whole chilli onto a baking tray and add a little oil.

Bake for 15 minutes OR until it is soft and golden.

Meanwhile, in a large pot add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and heat on medium heat.

Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is soft.

Once onion is soft, add the roasted fennel, tinned tomatoes, chilli and basil and add the stock.

Bring the soup to a boil. Once it is boiling you can either use a food processor or blender to blend it until it is smooth OR use a stick blender.

Once it is smooth, put soup back into the pot and add the chickpeas. Cook for a few minutes until the chickpeas are heated through.

Serve up with some grainy bread. .