Serves 4 to 6

 Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 chicken breast fillet *
1 leek, trimmed, washed and sliced
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
500g kumara (a kind of sweet potato), peeled and chopped
3 red capsicums, roasted and skins removed **
3 tomatoes peeled and seeded ***
6 cups water
1.5 L liquid chicken stock
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method:

Heat oil in a large saucepan.  Cook chicken until cooked *.  Remove from pan.  Chop finely.  Set aside.
Saute leek, onion and garlic in the same pan for 2 to 3 minutes or until tender.  Add kumara, capsicums and tomatoes.  Cook, stirring for 1 minute.
Blend in water, stock and pepper.  Bring to the boil.  Reduce heat.  Simmer for 20 to 25 minutes or until vegetables are very tender.
Process in a blender until roughly pureed.  Stir in chicken.  Simmer for 3 minutes.  Serve with fresh bread. 

Tips:

* To cook a chicken breast and retain tenderness and moisture, initially have pan at high heat.  Add chicken breast and cook on one side until browned.  Turn chicken over and turn hotplate down to low or even off.  Place a lid over the pan/chicken and allow the chicken to cook in the retained heat.  This will ensure the chicken is moist and tender.

**A quick way to roast capsicums is to cut them in half lengthways, remove seeds and membrane.  Place capsicums skin side up on griller tray and place under grill.  Once skins have blistered and blackened take them out and place in a plastic freezer bag.  Allow them to “sweat” in the bag and become cool enough to touch.  Removing the skins should be easier now.

*** To peel and seed tomatoes pierce each tomato in a few places with the point of a knife. Also mark a criss cross at both ends of the tomato with a sharp knife. Place in a bowl and cover with boiling water.  Stand for 1 minute.  Drain well.  Peel the skin off the tomato, starting at the criss cross point (this should assist with making peeling easier).  Halve tomatoes and scoop out seeds with a spoon or squeeze them out.

 The most important part of this thick and hearty soup is to slurp and enjoy.