Today might be La Tomatina, but it is also a great day to throw and crush tomatoes into soup.   The weather is warming up, and there's no better time to herald the entrance of spring than with tomato soup!

Spiced Tomato Soup

Serves 4 for an entree or lunch

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp sweet smoked paprika
• ¼ tsp Aleppo pepper
• 1kg ripe tomatoes (or 2 tins whole peeled), chopped
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
• Salt + pepper
• Za’atar

Method

• Heat oil, sauté onion + garlic until soft – take your time this should take about 30 minutes – you want soft translucent onion with no burnt bits - this just makes it bitter
• Add spices, toast until fragrant (30 sec)
• Stir in tomatoes, salt, pepper and stock, simmer 20 mins
• Blitz until smooth, stir through pomegranate molasses
• Adjust the seasoning
• Divide into bowls
• Top with a good drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of Za’atar