Mediterranean tomato soup with rice, basil and pesto

• Preheat the oven to 180º.

  Halve the tomatoes and place them cut side up on an oven tray. Cut the onion into strings and place them on the baking tray. Grate the garlic and add it under the onion. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle some oregano over the tomatoes. Place in the oven at 180º for 35 minutes.

  In the meantime, make the pesto.
  

Make the pesto:

• You can make pesto with a mortar, as the original recipe indicates. However, I don't always have the time and sometimes I need to move forward a bit more quickly. I use a cutter for this (= the device with blades that is often included with the hand mixer).

  Put all the ingredients for the pesto together in the cutter. I use pulses (not continuous mixing) to chop everything into a pesto. Cover tightly with foil and keep cold. Please note: pesto also becomes darker in color after a while, so make it just before you eat it or place a plastic foil on top of the pesto, without air in between)
• Place the tomatoes, onion and garlic in a saucepan. Pour with 800 ml of water. Season with salt and pepper. Place the 2 slices of bread on top. Let the soup simmer for another 20 minutes. Then add 10 g of fresh basil and mix everything with a hand mixer until you obtain a homogeneous, smooth soup.
  
• You have two options for preparing the rice:

  1. Rinse the rice under running water, add it to the soup and let the soup simmer lightly for 15 minutes. This is how you cook the rice in the soup.

  2. Rinse the rice under running water and cook it separately according to the instructions on the package.

  I did it according to step two because you can then decide how much rice you want in the soup.
  
• To serve: Pour the warm tomato soup into the plates. Spoon 2 tablespoons of rice into the plates along with 2 teaspoons of pesto. Sprinkle some grated cheese over it. Provide fresh baguette, spread it with pesto and eat with the soup. For those who like to eat meat, I might have a tip to eat meatballs with it… I personally added a boiled egg to each plate.

  And so you have a filling healthy lunch. You can add more to your own taste…