Roasted Pepper Soup

Preheat the grill (boiler) to hot. Cut the peppers in half, remove their stalks, cores and white pith, and scrape out the seeds.

Line a grill pan with foil and arrange the halved peppers, skin side up, in a single layer on the foil. Grill (broil) for 8-10 minutes, until the skins have blackened and blistered. Transfer the peppers to a plastic bag and leave until cool, then peel away their skins and discard. Roughly chop the pepper flesh. Put the onion, garlic clove and 150ml / 1/4 pint of the stock in a large pan. Boil for about 5 minutes until the stock has reduced in volume. Reduce the heat and stir until softened and just beginning to colour.

Sprinkle the flour over the onion, then gradually add the remaining stock, stirring to prevent lumps forming. Add the chopped, roasted peppers and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for a further 5 minutes. Leave to cool slightly, then puree in a food processor or blender until smooth. Season to taste with salt and ground black pepper.

Return to the pan and reheat until the soup is piping hot. Ladle into four soup bowls and garnish each with a sprinkling of diced peppers before serving.