Jono & Jules do food & wine

This is a tasty soup, but the sweetcorn salsa makes it extra special and looks great. Hearty enough to serve as a main course.

Wine Suggestion: a juicy, fruity red was the match here with the Cline Lodi Zinfandel as our choice this evening to great effect.

Smoky Black Bean & Roast Tomato Soup – serves 4

FOR THE SALSA

• 1 small red onion, very finely chopped
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• 100g sweetcorn kernels
• 1 red chilli
• squeeze of lime juice
• small bunch of coriander, leaves picked

FOR THE SOUP

• 6 tomatoes, halved across the middle
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• 2 red onions, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 tsp chipotle paste
• 1 tsp fresh or dried oregano
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds
• 700g cooked black beans
• 750ml veg stock
• squeeze of lime juice
• sour cream, to serve

First roast the tomatoes. Heat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Put the tomatoes in a single layer, cut-side up, on a baking tray. Drizzle lightly with oil and sprinkle with salt, then roast for 30 minutes.

Next make the salsa. Cook the red onion in the sunflower oil for 5 minutes until soft and starting to colour. Turn up the heat, then add the sweetcorn and chilli, stirring until the corn is toasted at the edges. Remove from the heat, season with salt and pepper and add a squeeze of lime juice.

To make the soup, heat the oil in a large saucepan and gently cook the onions until soft but not coloured. Add the garlic, chipotle paste, oregano & cumin seeds. Cook for another 5 minutes or until the cumin is fragrant.

Add the roasted tomatoes, the cooked beans and vegetable stock. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 30 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and lime juice, then liquidise until smooth. Check again for seasoning. Stir the coriander leaves through the salsa.

Serve the soup in warm bowls and a spoon of sour cream and salsa on the top.

(Original recipe by Alice Hart in BBC Good Food Magazine, July 2011.)