Tomato & black bean soup with a poached egg & avocado toast

I have been on a bit of a soup mission for a while now. Buying lunch in the city is turning out to be seriously unaffordable, so a Thermus has been purchased and soup recipes perused. This particular soup pulls together some fairly standard store cupboard ingredients to create a hearty, gloriously smoky sumptuous soup. It really is dependant on how good the paprika you use is, so get the good stuff out. Served with a poached egg & avocado toasts turns it into a bit more of a lunchtime feast. Expect more soup recipes to come!

Ingredients for 2

1 Tin of tomatoes

1 Tin of black beans

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp good sweet paprika

A pinch of garlic flakes or garlic salt if you have some

1 medium free range egg

A little vinegar for poaching

2 chunky slices of Rye bread, toasted

Half an avocado

2 tsp lemon juice
2 spring onions

A little salt

Method

Put the beans, tomatoes, oregano & paprika in a saucepan and cook over a medium heat. Allow it to bubble for 10 mins stirring occasionally. To poach your egg put a pan of water over a high heat and when it's at a ferocious rolling boil, stir the water to create a whirlpool and crack the egg into the centre. Put a lid on the pan and remove from the heat. Allow to sit covered for 4 mins. In the meantime put you toast on & mash the avocado with the lemon and season to taste. Spread on your toast.

Remove the egg from the water with a slotted spoon and sit in top of a hefty bowl of the soup & garnish with sliced spring onions.