Tomato soup, perfect for weekends

If you’re looking for something warm and comforting to have for lunch this weekend, then here’s a perfect idea to fight the winter blues.

You may think I’ve gone a bit soup-crazed recently, but with the mother-in-law experimenting with her new soup-recipe book left, right and centre, the addiction has rubbed off on me a little.

And it really is the perfect winter food – tasty, effortless and warming.

When I recently discovered a Sainsbury’s store down the road from me (yippee – more gluten-free choice than the shoddy little end of an aisle in Asda!) I got a bit excited.

Trolley at the ready, I raced around this new and confusing territory in search of the green and yellow glow eminating from the Free From aisle.

And it was an impressive range too, with plenty of alluring snacks, breads, cakes and ready-made sauces.

Fighting the urge to blow my whole loan on gluten-free goodies, I decided to go for something I wouldn’t normally try, just to see if I could find something special.

Scanning the shelves – cold and with my cheap imitation-Ugg boots squelching from the downpour outside (honestly, those things are like candle wicks – though I still buy them!) I decided Tomato Soup was the answer.

Sainsbury’s Free From Juicy Tomato and Basil Soup looked and sounded like a bit of an exotic adventure against the winter rain outside.

Although you’re probably thinking “Tomato soup, what’s new and exciting about that?” – I can tell you now that the last time I tried tomato soup was definitely around a decade ago, and I’ve got a pretty poor memory.

So, up for trying something new, I grabbed the soup, trudged back to the car and was on my merry way home for lunch.

Packaged in a handy microwavable pouch, I hurriedly followed the instructions, tore into either side of the pouch and placed it in the microwave ready to heat.

Problem: the pouch, being too tall for my measly student microwave, took a tumble at the first half a turn of the plate and I had to quickly rescue the soup from near-disaster.

Luckily I only spilt a teaspoon’s worth – it could have been worse.

Option two, for those with pathetically small microwaves: I emptied the contents into a saucepan and heated it up the old fashioned way, on the hob!

Finally I was able to eat my long-awaited soup, with a crust ciabatta roll armed with it.

Although it looks slightly oily from the pictures I took (can’t wait for my camera to return – blackberry’s don’t have the best cameras ever!) the soup was suprising light and also delicious.

The sweet, and definitely juicy, tomato flavours are complimented by hints of aromatic basil, giving an almost mediterranean feel to the soup – prefect for warming up any horrible day.

Filling, and it contains one of your five-a-day, this pouch of soup was definitely rich enough to please my taste buds and now that Sainsbury’s is only down the road, I can definitely pop back for more!