Tomato Basil and Bacon Soup

Ingredients

1 kg truss tomatoes (without stalks)
200 g short cut bacon
500 g orange sweet potatoes
cooking spray
1 large onion diced
1 Tbsp crushed garlic (in jar)
1/3 cup plain flour
3/4 cup (28 g) fresh basil shredded
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt-reduced beef stock powder
1 1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
6 cups water
1 x 400 g can white beans drained and rinsed

Method

Remove stem from tomatoes, then score a cross at the base with a sharp knife. Place in boiling water for 30 seconds then remove. Peel off the skin then dice and leave to one side.
Trim any fat from bacon, then dice.

Peel sweet potatoes, then dice.

In a large boiler that has been coated generously with cooking spray, sauté bacon and onion for 4 minutes.

Add garlic and sweet potatoes and toss together well. Cook a further 3 minutes. Add flour and combine well.

Add all remaining ingredients except beans. Once boiled, reduce to a moderate/slow boil for 30 minutes or until sweet potatoes are soft.

Roughly mash with a potato masher. Lastly add beans.

Variation: For a vegetarian option, omit bacon and replace beef stock powder with 4 teaspoons salt-reduced vegetable stock powder.
Suitable to be frozen.

Nutrition note: Tomatoes contain lycopene, a powerful antioxidant that is even more after cooking. They also contain nutrients that have an antithrombotic and anti-inflammatory function, so they are an ideal heart health food.

Credits: Symply Too Good to be true book 7 by Annette Sym

Photo Credits: IKEA