Sunday lunch/dinner is a huge tradition over here in the UK . . . with roast dinners and all the trimmings. In fact in most pubs on a Sunday you can't order off the menu. It's roast dinner or nothing. Mind you, most give you a choice or beef, pork, lamb or turkey, so it's not that bad really. We don't eat out on Sundays and we never have a roast dinner at home. We spend half of the day in church and to be honest . . . when I get home I can't be asked to cook a big roast dinner then.
If we have a roast dinner it will be on another day most of the time. If I have been smart I will have put something in the slow cooker to enjoy when we get home. If I haven't, we'll have something quick and easy like this delicious Tomato and Bean Soup!
It's pretty much just a matter of opening a few tins and combining them on top of the stove . . . okay, it's a little bit more than that. You do have bacon to fry. (YES! Bacon!) and crumble . . . and some celery and onion to soften, but other than that you just bang everything into a sauce pan and let it cook.
By the time you've made the toasted cheese sandwiches to serve on the side the soups done. A smattering of cheese scattered over top (coz I'm a glutton like that) and Bob's your Uncle. Dinner's done! And nobody's complaining.
*Tomato and Bean Soup*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe
A delicious and hearty storecupboard supper. A tasty grilled cheese sandwich goes very well with this!
2 slices streaky bacon
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
1 stick of celery chopped
1 (28-oz) tin of whole tomatoes, cut up (2 400g tins)
1 (10 3/4-oz) tin of condensed tomato soup
1 (15.5-oz) tin of red kidney beans, drained (400g tin)
1 (11-oz) tin of sweet corn, undrained (310g tin)
1/2 cup water (120ml)
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp dried thyme leaves, rubbed between your fingers
salt and black pepper to taste
Cook the bacon in a large saucepan or Dutch oven until crisp. Remove the bacon. Reserve 1 TBS of the drippings. Crumble the bacon and set aside. Reheat the drippings over medium heat until sizzling. Add the onion and celery. Cook, stirring, until tender. Stir in the remaining ingredients and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer 10 to 15 minutes or until thoroughly heated through. taste and adjust seasoning using salt and pepper to taste. Ladle into heated bowls and serve garnished with the crumbled bacon.
