The simplest soup you'll ever make. This Spanish-style cold tomato soup makes for a crowd-pleasing vegetarian starter on hot summer days or store in the fridge for light-lunches through the week.
Guest recipe by chef Laura Paine
Serves 6 as a starter
Ingredients
- 500g ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 1 small ripe melon, about 400g peeled & chopped
- 1 jar Turmeric & Ginger kimchi
- 50g roasted cashews, plus a few chopped to serve
- 1 cucumber, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1-2 tsp flakey salt
- 3-4 tbsp red wine or sherry vinegar
- Coriander leaves & toasted sesame oil, to serve
Method:
- Mix the tomatoes, melon, kimchi, cashews, cucumber and 1 tsp of salt in a large bowl. If you have time, let it sit for an hour at room temperature to draw the liquid from the vegetables and soften the cashews. Transfer the mixture to a blender (in batches depending on the size and power of your machine) and blend until smooth.
- Taste for seasoning and add 3tbsp of vinegar, or more depending on the acidity of your tomatoes, and more salt if desired. The chilling will mute the flavours so don’t be afraid to season quite boldly!
- Put the soup in the fridge for at least an hour, or up to a day if making in advance.
- Taste again just before serving and adjust seasoning if needed. Serve with a drizzle of toasted sesame seed oil, some scattered coriander seeds and extra chopped cashews for crunch.
Enjoy!