Spicy Cream Of Tomato Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 small red onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 celery ribs, chopped
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
1/2 red chile, deseeded (leave seeds in if you prefer it to be quite hot)
1 (14 ounce) can chopped tomatoes
1 pint vegetable stock
1 tablespoon mascarpone cheese (optional)
double cream, to taste (or single cream, for a healthier option)
1 tablespoon butter or 1 tablespoon margarine
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
salt, to taste

Preparation

Heat a medium-sized pan, melt butter with oil.
Sweat onion, garlic, celery, pepper and chili until translucent.
Add tomatoes and vegetable stock.
Bring to boil, then let simmer until vegetables are soft.
Liquidise in a blender (I use a hand-held blender, but watch out for the hot liquid splashing!).
Put the soup back on the fire, add mascarpone cheese (if using), cream and salt to taste.
Serve with toast or crostini.