Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Lentil Soup

1. For the roasted vegetables: Preheat oven to 400F. Line two baking sheets (per 4 servings) with parchment paper.

2. Cut tomatoes into quarters if small, and eighths if large. Deseed and cut bell peppers into similar sized pieces as tomatoes. Peel and quarter onions. Peel garlic cloves.

3. Place tomatoes, onion, red peppers, and garlic cloves onto baking sheets. Toss them with Italian seasoning, oil, salt, and pepper.

4. Place both trays into oven and bake for18 minutes.

5. For the soup: While vegetables are roasting, pour lentils and water into a medium sized saucepan.

6. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, cover with a lid, and simmer gently for 15 minutes.

7. Once vegetables have roasted, remove from oven and place into a large blender. Save a few whole pieces of roasted vegetables for garnishing the soup later.

8. Add in vegetable broth and cooked lentils, and blend until smooth.

9. Pour blended soup into a large stockpot and bring to a boil. Add in Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and dried basil. Let soup simmer for 5 minutes.