Soften the aromatics first. Warm the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and carrot and cook for 6–7 minutes, until the onion turns translucent and glossy and the carrots smell sweet rather than raw. You want soft edges, not colour.

Add the garlic and pepper. Stir in the garlic and red pepper and cook for 2 minutes more. The garlic should smell fragrant and nutty but must not brown — if it starts to catch, pull the pan off the heat immediately.

Bloom the tomato purée. Add the tomato purée, oregano, salt and pepper and stir for 1 minute. The paste will darken to a deep brick red and smell rich and concentrated. This single minute is what separates a thin soup from a full-flavoured one.

Load the slow cooker. Tip the pan contents into the slow cooker insert. Add the chopped tomatoes and stock and stir so everything is evenly distributed. The liquid should just cover the vegetables — if it does not, add a splash more stock.

Cook low and slow. Cover and cook on low for 4–6 hours, or on high for 2–3 hours. It is ready when the carrots slide off a knife tip with no resistance and the tomatoes have collapsed into a soft, jammy pulp.

Blend until silky. Let the soup cool for 5 minutes, then blend in batches until completely smooth. It should pour off a spoon in a slow ribbon rather than a watery trickle. For a rustic texture, pulse only 5–6 times instead.

Finish with basil. Return the blended soup to the slow cooker, tear in the basil leaves and stir through the cream or coconut milk if using. Set to warm for 10 minutes — the soup will turn a soft, warm pink and smell unmistakably of fresh basil.

Taste and adjust. Season again with salt and a pinch of chilli flakes if you like. Serve hot with extra basil scattered over the top.