This spicy tomato and chorizo soup recipe comes from the kitchen of one of our French cookery hosts – in other words, straight from the kitchen of a local chef.

Once you’ve sampled this delicious recipe, why not join one of our cookery holidays in France – the home of gourmet cuisine – to try your hand at even more complex dishes?

Serves 4

Ingredients

25g butter
1 stick celery
1/4 leek
1 green chilli
1 tsp smoked paprika
150g spicy chorizo sausage
1 large tin peeled plum tomatoes
100g tomato puree
5 cloves garlic
2 onions
1 dessert spoon brown sugar
1 dessert spoon white vinegar
50g sun-dried tomatoes
200ml chicken stock
200ml cream

Directions

1. Dice the onions, slice and wash the leek and celery and finely slice the garlic and green chilli. Then, heat a medium to large-sized saucepan, melt the butter and add the chopped vegetables. Cook the veg gently over a medium heat until the onion, leeks and celery are softened but not coloured.

2. Slice 100g of the chorizo and add it to the saucepan with the paprika. Continue to cook for a couple of minutes until the oil has started to come out of the chorizo. Add the tinned tomatoes, sundried tomatoes and tomato puree and cook for another 5 minutes.

3. Add the chicken stock and cook for a further 20 minutes. Blend the soup in a liquidiser, then pass through a sieve, using the back of a ladle to work it through the sieve.

4. Put back in a clean saucepan, and add the cream, sugar and vinegar. Season with salt to taste.

5. Finely dice the remaining chorizo and fry until just crispy. Serve the soup and garnish with the fried chorizo and a little more cream.

Serving suggestions

This soup makes for a lovely warming lunch, or you can use a smaller portion for a starter. It is best served with fresh crusty bread and butter, or warm focaccia bread.

If you’re wanting to make it in advance, it can be made the day before and will keep in the fridge in a covered container for 3 to 4 days after it has been made.

Interested in joining an acclaimed chef in their kitchen for an immersive cooking experience? Find out more about our cookery holidays in France and indulge your inner foodie.