Tomato and Rice Soup

Ingredients: Oil, Onion, Celery, Rice, Tinned chopped tomatoes, Tomato puree, Salt & pepper,

Stock cube, Water, Teaspoon white sugar

What you do:

1. Wash your hands.

2. Peel the onion and cut in half from top to bottom.

3. Lay flat side on chopping board and cut into half centimetre dice.

4. Cut celery into strips and then half centimetre dice.

5. Pour 1 tablespoon oil into pan over a gentle heat and cook onion and celery until soft but do not let it go brown.

6. Add the rice and cook for 1 more minute.

7. Add the tinned tomatoes and then fill each can with water and add to the pan. Turn up the heat.

8. Add salt & pepper, the sugar, some herbs (basil or oregano are good), tomato puree and crumble in the stock cubes.

9. Stir well to prevent the rice sticking to the bottom.

10. Bring to the boil and then turn down the heat so that the soup is just simmering.

11. Cook for 15 minutes. Taste and add anything needed.At this point choose whether you want a smooth soup or one with chunky bits in it.

12. For a smooth soup, zap with the hand held blender until the texture you want.

13. For a chunky soup you may need to thicken it. If you do blend 1 spoonful of cornflour with a little water to make a smooth paste then

pour into the soup and stir well until thickened. If still too thin then repeat!

14. Ganrnish with chopped parsley.