During these hot summer days, I’ve definitely lost my appetite a little. I crave light, healthy, nutritious foods. One of my go-to dishes is chilled Gazpacho soup and this one by the one and only Delia Smith is on point.

This is a truly delicious refreshing soup ideally served ice cold. Please don’t attempt to make it in the winter as the flavourless imported salad vegetables will not do it justice.

This recipe serves 6. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

INGREDIENTS

• 1½ lb red ripe tomatoes
• 10cm cucumber, peeled and chopped
• 2-3 spring onions, peeled and chopped
• 2 garlic cloves crushed
• ½ red pepper, deseeded and chopped
• 1 heaped tsp fresh basil, marjoram or thyme
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1½ tbsp wine vinegar
• Salt and black pepper

GARNISH

• ½ red or green pepper, deseeded and finely chopped
• 10cm cucumber, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 spring onions, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 hard boiled egg finely chopped
• 1 heaped tbsp fresh chopped parsley
• Salt and black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

• Place tomatoes in a bowl, pour boiling water over them
• After a minute the skins will loosen and slip off
• Halve the tomatoes, deseed, roughly chop the flesh
• Place tomatoes, cucumber, onions, garlic, pepper in a liquidiser
• Add salt and pepper, herbs, oil, and vinegar
• Blend everything until smooth
• Taste to check the seasoning
• Pour the soup into a bowl
• Stir in cold water to thin slightly to preferred consistency
• Cover the bowl with foil and chill thoroughly
• For garnish: combine all ingredients with seasoning
• Serve soup with garnish on top