Tomato, Orange, Harissa
and Coriander Soup

Soup is very versatile – everybody who likes soup knows that – but it’s worth making the extra effort to lift great fresh flavours with the addition of some accessible but less common finishing touches. Here, the inclusion of orange pepper and the finishing with orange oil work particularly well because they are blind – by that I mean ‘orange’ is not visible in the soup, so it gently complements by adding aroma and flavour that’s not anticipated.

I don’t blend this soup at the end because I found I preferred the more rugged finish – I could say ‘rustic’ but I do mean rugged. I want the chunks of tomato to stand out, and when I hear rustic soup mentioned, I sometimes fear it’s just a cook’s way of leaving something unfinished. Truly rustic soup should not need blending and should be halfway to a main course for me.

Soup may be versatile and easy, but it still deserves care, attention and balance if you’re going to do it justice.

 

Serves 4

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 onion, roughly chopped

handful of fresh coriander, chopped, and stalks finely chopped separately

500ml (2 cups) vegetable stock

juice of ½ small orange

1 tsp fresh harissa (page 260)

250ml (1 cup) chopped tinned tomatoes

250ml (1 cup) tomato passata

1 tsp orange pepper seasoning

1 tsp chilli salt

1 tbsp rapeseed oil

orange rapeseed oil to drizzle – if you have it

* Toast the coriander seeds in a small dry frying pan until aromatic and then cool, crush to a powder and set aside. Fry the chopped onion gently in a saucepan on a low heat in a little oil for 10 minutes or until soft but not browned. Add the ground coriander seeds and chopped coriander stalks and stir through for 1 minute. Add the stock, orange juice, harissa, chopped tomatoes and tomato passata, and cook on a medium heat for 10 minutes. Add the orange pepper seasoning and chilli salt, and continue to simmer for a further 15–20 minutes. Add half the chopped coriander leaves and stir through. Serve in wide bowls finished with a little more coriander leaves and a generous drizzle of orange rapeseed oil on top.