Old School 12-hour Tomato Soup (Slow Cooker)

Set your slow cooker to the sauté function. Add the olive oil and butter and, when hot, add the onions and sliced fennel with a big pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often to prevent the vegetables catching, until they have softened and started to sweat.

Add the sweet smoked paprika, crushed coriander seeds, and crushed fennel seeds and cook for 10–12 minutes, or until the vegetables are very soft. You may need to nurse this phase a little; you don’t want the spices to burn, but you do want the onion mixture to be thoroughly coated in the spices, and for it to be nice and fragrant.

Add the chopped tomatoes, vegetable stock, and brown sugar. Close the lid and cook on low for 10–12 hours.

Allow the soup to cool slightly in the pot before using a hand-held blender to blitz it. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and brown sugar as needed. Depending on your tomatoes, the soup can taste a little acidic and will need the additional brown sugar and salt to temper it.

Pour the soup into serving bowls. Drizzle with cream or yoghurt, if using, and season again. Serve with cheese toasties.