Roasted Tomato and Red Pepper Soup with Toasted Corn

The sainted Mary Berry does a roasted red pepper soup where she blends the whole lot, blackened skin and all. I was sceptical until I tried it, and now will never bother skinning a roasted pepper for a soup again! The skin adds a deep, smoky resonance to proceedings, almost as though you've used smoked paprika. Anyway, this recipe is so simple it is scarcely even cooking. Line a baking tray with parchment paper (saves a lot of washing up!). Halve a good kilo of ripe tomatoes and spread over the tray. Next, halve 2 red peppers and remove the stem and seeds. Halve again and add to the tray. Skin a red onion (or any other one for that matter!) and cut into wedges. Add to the tray along with a good number of whole, peeled garlic cloves, depending on size. I went for 6 yesterday, but we like garlic! Drizzle with a couple of tablespoons olive oil and roast in a medium oven for 40 minutes until well roasted and blistered with some nice charring on the pepper skins. Now, tip it all into a pot, and just cover with veg stock. Simmer for about 15 minutes and then blend. You can add some basil if you have it and a spoon of cream to soften the flavours a little. A nice garnish is some toasted corn kernels - simply brush an ear of corn with a little oil and grill for 10 minutes, turning from time-to-time, until it is nice and toasty. Allow to cool for a few minutes and then strip the kernels off with a sharp knife. Delicious!