Roasted capsicum soup and sweet potato and capsicum feta loaf

Capsicum and sweet potato are easy for our taste buds to love, especially when teamed with a salty cheese like feta.

Delicious: roasted capsicum soup. Picture: Guy Bailey

I think of capsicum and sweet potato as gateway veg – their naturally high sugar content makes them easy for our taste buds to love, even more so when teamed with a salty cheese like feta. Serve the soup and vegie loaf together for a special Sunday lunch, or divvy them up over the week.

ROASTED CAPSICUM SOUP

½ cup olive oil, extra to serve

4 red capsicums, quartered, seeds removed

2-3 garlic cloves, bruised

1 red onion, peeled and sliced into thick wedges

1 teaspoon smoked paprika, plus extra to serve

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 x 400g cans good quality whole peeled tomatoes

3 cups (750ml) vegetable stock

2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

½ teaspoon sugar (or to taste)

Feta cream

100g sour cream

100g Greek feta, crumbled

1 tablespoon finely chopped oregano, extra sprigs to serve

1 garlic clove, minced

¼ teaspoon cracked black pepper

Preheat oven to 190C (170C fan). To make feta cream, stir sour cream until smooth; fold through feta, oregano, garlic and pepper. Combine all soup ingredients except sugar in a large roasting tin; cover with foil. Bake for 45 minutes; the veg should be soft. Remove foil and bake at 220C (200C fan) for 15-20 minutes until capsicum and onion tips start to brown. In quarter batches, whiz the vegetable mix in a blender until smooth, transferring each batch to a soup pot (or use a stick blender). Bring soup to a simmer; season, adding sugar to taste. Ladle into bowls; drizzle with olive oil. Add a dollop of feta cream, a glug of olive oil and a sprinkle of fresh oregano and paprika. Serve with sweet potato loaf or crusty bread. Serves 4

Sweet potato, capsicum & feta loaf. Picture: Guy Bailey

SWEET POTATO, CAPSICUM & FETA LOAF

3 cups sweet potato (450g), peeled and diced

1 red capsicum, diced

1 red onion, diced

2/3 cup olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

½ teaspoon finely chopped oregano leaves

1 teaspoon butter

½ cup (140g) pumpkin seeds

3 eggs

½ cup milk

1¼ cup (175g) plain flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

½ cup (70g) fine polenta

1 teaspoon sea salt flakes

½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

½ teaspoon paprika

100g Greek feta, diced

50g cheddar cheese

Place sweet potato, capsicum and onion in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan with two tablespoons of olive oil; sauté for 15 minutes until soft but holding their shape. Add garlic and oregano and sauté for a minute or two; turn off heat and leave to cool. Preheat oven to 200C (180C fan). Grease a large loaf tin with the butter and sprinkle half the pumpkin seeds around the base and sides. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, remaining oil and milk together until frothy. Sift over flour, baking powder, polenta, salt, pepper and paprika, whisking again until smooth. Stir in feta, cheddar and sautéed vegies. Pour into loaf tin, sprinkle with remaining pumpkin seeds and place in lower middle of oven. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until deeply golden on top and a skewer comes out clean. Remove from oven, leave for 5 minutes then turn out onto a rack to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Serves 4-6

Top tips

Vegetable loaves are best served warm and eaten with butter or a dab of feta cream.

Warm slices in the toaster or under the grill; they can also be frozen in slices.

If your soup tastes too acidic, add 1/8 teaspoon of bicarb soda to help neutralise this.

A little extra sugar will help fake a riper tomato flavour.