Tomato and Basil Soup

Peel and chop the garlic cloves and the onion. De-seed and chop the long sweet red pepper. Melt the butter in a large saucepan and add the onion, garlic and sweet red pepper. Cover and simmer gently stirring now and then until the onions are soft – about ten minutes. Meanwhile, cut the tomatoes in half, splitting where the stalk was. Cut out a V to remove the hard stalk remnants and roughly chop the tomatoes. Add them to the other ingredients and bring everything back to a simmer. Add the dry basil, salt and pepper, cover, and let it all stew gently for about 20 minutes stirring occasionally. Add the chicken stock and simmer gently for another ten minutes. Remove from the heat and now blend all the ingredients in a liquidiser or with an electric hand blender. Return it to the saucepan, taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Stir in 50ml of double cream saving 25ml for presentation. Serve with some torn fresh basil leaves and a swirl of cream. Revel in the taste, consume luxuriously then relax for ten minutes. Take the dog for a walk....