Spiced Tomato & Rice Soup

1. Peel the onion and thinly slice it. Peel and crush or grate the garlic clove. Separate the coriander stalks and leaves (save the leaves for later) and finely chop the stalks. Roughly chop the tomatoes. Fill and boil your kettle.

2. Pour 1 tbsp olive oil into a pan and bring to a medium heat. Slide in the onion and garlic with a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Fry for 5 mins, stirring occasionally, till starting to soften and brown.

3. Add 1 tsp ras al hanut. Slide in the tomatoes and stir to combine. Cook for 5 mins, stirring now and then, till the tomatoes start to break down and become pulpy.

4. Pour 750ml boiling water into the pan and crumble in the vegetable stock cube. Tip in the basmati rice and give everything a good stir. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer. Pop on a lid. Cook for 10-12 mins, till the rice is tender but still with some bite. Taste, and add more salt and pepper if necessary.

5. Ladle the tomato and rice soup into warm bowls. Top with the reserved coriander leaves to serve.

6. Ras al Hanut Also called ras al hanout, this North African spice blend is used to add flavour to dishes in Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria. The name means 'top of the shop' because the blend is meant to be a mixture of the best spices the shop has that day. There's no fixed combination of spices in ras al hanut. It contain 20 or more different spices. Often included are cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, peppercorns, allspice, cloves, rose petals and nutmeg.