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Chilled spiced tomato soupThe key to success is, of course, starting off with the ripest, juiciest, most flavoursome tomatoes you can find. Secondly, it’s imperative to chill the soup thoroughly for it to be as refreshing as possible. I like to make mine a day ahead of when I plan to serve it, allowing the flavours to deepen. 
15 minutes prep. 
Nil cooking
Serves 4-6 |
Ingredients
- 50 gm crustless day-old sourdough bread, coarsely torn
- Water
- 1.5 kg very ripe tomatoes, coarsely chopped
- 2 pale inner celery stalks, coarsely chopped, leaves reserved to serve
- 1 Spanish onion, coarsely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 small red chilli, finely chopped, or to taste
- 70 ml extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, or to taste
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce, or to taste
- 2 teaspoons Tabasco, or to taste, plus extra to serve
- Cherry tomatoes, halved or sliced, depending on size, to serve
- Celery seeds (optional), to serve
Method
- Combine the torn bread in a bowl with enough cold water to cover and stand for 2-3 minutes to soften the bread, place in a colander to drain and then squeeze out excess water.
- Combine bread in a bowl with remaining ingredients, season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and stand for 10-15 minutes for flavours to mingle.
- Using a stick blender, blend in batches until very smooth, trying to make sure you have a good mix of all ingredients in each batch, adding a little cold water if necessary to thin to a soup consistency.
- Check the seasoning, adding more vinegar, Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper according to your taste, bearing in mind that the flavour will become more muted once the soup is chilled.
- Strain through a sieve if you prefer a finer texture, otherwise cover and refrigerate until well chilled, preferably overnight.
- To serve, ladle soup into chilled bowls, scatter with cherry tomatoes, celery leaves and celery salt/seeds, drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and serve with extra Tabasco.
