- Put the oven on to heat at 200ºC fan oven/220ºC/Gas 7.
- Place the potatoes and tomatoes on separate baking trays with the tomatoes placed cut side up. Sprinkle with olive oil and season well. Place in the oven for 25 minutes.
- Heat a little oil in a large saucepan. Add the onions and garlic. Fry on a medium heat for 5 – 6 minutes until the onions soften and begin to brown.
- Add the cooked tomatoes, potatoes, tomato purée, sugar, water and stock cube and cook for a further 3 – 4 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Using a hand-held blender, blend the soup until you don’t see any more lumps (unless you want it lumpy). Bring back to the boil. Stir in the basil, leaving a little behind to sprinkle on top when serving.
- Serve in individual soup bowls. To make it look a little bit fancy, put a tablespoon of yogurt or crème fraîche in the middle of the soup; using a spoon handle swirl the yogurt or crème fraîche and sprinkle the leftover basil over the top. See photo.