Market Garden Gazpacho

(SERVES 6)

1kg mixed ripe vine tomatoes (use a variety of colours and sizes), roughly chopped
2 red peppers, deseeded and chopped
1 cucumber, chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 shallots, peeled and chopped
175ml extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp sherry vinegar
100g sourdough bread, crust removed, plus extra for crutons
salt and pepper
diced red pepper, cucumber and tomato with homemade crutons to garnish

Place the tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, shallots and garlic into a blender with the olive oil. Whizz until very smooth. (Do this in batches if your blender isn’t large enough to take all of the ingredients at once.) We like to use a mixture of red, yellow and orange tomatoes of different shapes and sizes to capture as many flavours as possible.

Decant the soup into a large bowl through a conical sieve or colander, using a spoon to encourage the liquid to drain through but leaving any remaining pith, pips and skin behind.

Tear the sourdough into chunks and add to the soup. Stir in and set aside for 30 minutes to allow the bread to soak in.

Add the sherry vinegar and salt and pepper and return the soup to the blender. Whizz once more for up to a minute or until you have a velvety smooth consistency.

To serve, pour into bowls and scatter over finely diced red pepper, cucumber and tomato. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and finish with a little sea salt and black pepper.

This soup is best served on the day it is made, when the flavours will be vibrant and fresh. If making ahead of time, chill until required.

Our heritage tomatoes are available in all of our farmshops throughout the warmer months