I’m sure everyone is familiar with sundried tomatoes in various salads; pastas; quiches and whatnot, but is it a viable main ingredient for soup? I was wondering this very question as I was holding looking at an opened jar of sundried tomatoes in my fridge. Some things I was certain off: the contents of that jar would go bad if I didn’t use it soon, I really don’t like wasting food, and my usual go-to for incorporating leftovers is making soup. So why not? Maybe it would turn out really good! (spoiler alert: it did).

The beauty of this soup is you need only 3 ingredients (and that includes water!) but obviously you can get creative and try adding different things, like fresh tomatoes/tomato paste if you want to make it more tomato-ey, or other vegetables to create a broader spectrum of tastes (think zucchini, pumkpin, sweet pepper etc). The bare minimum version (which is this version) is just a great “I’m too tired to think but I do want something that tastes good” recipe.

For 4 persons (approximately 250 kcals per serving)

• 1 jar (approx. 300 grams) sundried tomatoes in oil, drained but save a bit of the oil;
• 250 mL (soy)cream;
• 1 or 2 Liters water, depending how strong you want the soup to taste.

Using a chopper, hand blender or otherwise kitchen aid, blitz the contents of the jar until it’s a smooth paste. Heat the leftover oil in a heavy-bottomed pan and bake the sundried tomato paste for a minute or 2, releasing the aromas. Add the water, bring to a boil and then lower the heat to let the soup simmer for at least 20 minutes. After this time you can taste it: if it is too watery you can let it simmer some more. If the taste is too much you can add a little water, but keep in mind that you want the taste to be just a bit too strong, as you still need to add the cream.

Once you feel the soup is ready for the cream, add that and let it simmer a few more minutes so everything is warmed through. And that’s it! You can eat it as is, but if you worry it might not be enough it can be accompanied with some freshly baked crusty bread, or even grilled cheese for that taste of nostalgia. Enjoy and make it your own!