Roast Tomato & Blue Cheese Soup with Tomato Pesto Swirl Buns

Roast Tomato & Blue Cheese Soup with Tomato Pesto Swirl Buns

 I woke up in the middle of the night dreaming of Roast Tomato & Blue Cheese Soup with Tomato Pesto Swirl Buns which is odd because whilst I love the stuff I really should be dreaming about Vikings in Santa Clause outfits but I’d received a bumper box of the luscious ruby orbs and clearly had them on my mind.

When I wake up with a food idea I can’t simply go back to sleep so it was into the kitchen and on with the oven.

With an abundance of any veg, I always think of soup but I wanted to give it a bit of a festive twist so I’ve added some blue cheese, which often makes an appearance at this time of year. It adds a creamy, richness to the soup whilst enhancing the tomatoeyness of everything.

Of course, soup can’t be eaten without something to dip into it so I made these ridiculously moreish tomato pesto and blue cheese swirl buns and they were just pull-apart fabulous. In fact the whole thing was utterly glorious and clearly a dream come true.

Tomato Pesto Swirl Bread

• 500g strong white bread flour
• 350ml warm water
• 1 large egg – beaten
• 1 teaspoon fast action dried yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Extra olive oil for the bowl
• 1 x 180g jar of tomato pesto – I used this one from Isle of Wight Tomatoes
• 150g creamy blue cheese

Make the bread

Place the flour, yeast and salt into a bowl and pour in the water, oil and beaten egg.  Mix together well, then knead for 10 minutes either with your hands on an oiled work surface or in a stand mixer.

Tip the kneaded dough into a well-oiled container with a lid and set aside in a warm place for at least 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Grease and line a roughly 9 inch x 13 inch oblong tin. Mine is this one from Nordic Ware. Pre-heat the oven to 200C (fan) / 395F

Spread the dough out onto an oiled board into roughly a 20cm x 10cm oblong.  Spread the pesto all over and then crumble to cheese on top.  Roll it up into a thick long and divide into 6 even portions.  Lay them cut side up into the tin in two rows of 3.  Set aside for 30 mins.

Bake for 45 minutes or until golden.  Set aside to cool.

Roast Tomato & Blue Cheese Soup

• 500g baby or cherry tomatoes
• 10 x medium tomatoes – chopped
• 3 medium potatoes – chopped
• 2 sticks celery – chopped
• 1 large onion – chopped
• 5 cloves of garlic
• Fresh rosemary and thyme
• Olive oil
• Balsamic vinegar – I used this one from Isle of Wight Tomatoes
• Salt and pepper
• 1 litre good quality veg stock
• 150g creamy blue cheese
• A little fresh basil

Time to cook

Pre-heat the oven to 180C / 356F

Place all the veg, garlic and herbs into a large roasting tin, season well and drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Roast for 30 mins or until all the veg is soft and starting to colour a little.

Pour the whole lot into a large pot on the hob and place on a medium heat,  Add the stock and let it bubble away for at least 15 mins.  Turn off the heat and allow it to cool for 15 mins, the stir in the cheese and some fresh basil and blend with a hand blender until smooth.

For more soup recipes, check these out on Dom in the Kitchen.

Eat and of course, enjoy!