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1 Place everything into a blender taking extra care not to overfill. Blend on a high speed until very smooth and pass through a fine sieve, making sure to extract as much of the liquid as possible. It really is that easy! 2 Transfer to the fridge to cool. To serve the chilled soup, pour into bowls and garnish with some sliced or wedged tomatoes – go for as many different types as you can get. There are plenty of red, yellow, cherry, green, striped and plum varieties, to name but a few. 3 Scatter over a few freshly blanched and podded peas, broad beans and asparagus. For a touch of real class, finish with some basil leaves, nasturtium flowers and pea shoots. 4 A great accompaniment would be this classic pesto recipe, which I have adapted to include some of the stunning organic nasturtiums that are grown locally. These give it a powerful, peppery kick. Be sure to make plenty, as it keeps really well in the fridge and works brilliantly on pasta. For the pesto: 2 garlic cloves, peeled 100g basil leaves, stalks removed 60g nasturtium flowers and/or leaves (or more basil) 350ml olive oil 120g pine nuts, lightly toasted 120g Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated 200ml extra virgin olive oil salt and pepper
JUst chiLLin’ A SUMMERY SOUP WITH AN OPTIONAL PESTO TOPPING FROM MATT MASON AT THE JACK IN THE GREEN INN This is a smashing soup for balmy summer days and offers a real taste of the Med. “I have to admit that I rarely use a recipe for this soup, it’s all about taste and balance,” says Matt. “Simple and quality ingredients need little or no intervention by the cook. The local tomatoes, the oil and the vinegar all emulsify to produce something quite spectacular, and perfect for a warm summer’s day. The soup should be made using icy water and is best served very cold. In fact, it’s a not too distant relative of that well-known Spanish classic, Gazpacho.”
1 Add the herbs, garlic, olive oil, freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and pine nuts to a blender or food processor and blitz until a coarse paste is achieved. 2 Transfer to a bowl and adjust the seasoning. Personally I quite like it when it’s not too smooth, so it still retains a lot of its original character. TIP! This soup keeps really well, but remember to cling film to avoid the heady garlic aroma filling your fridge for weeks.
CHILLED SUMMER TOMATO SOUP SERVES 10 1.4kg very ripe tomatoes (under-ripe cheap supermarket tomatoes will produce a significantly inferior product) 200g cucumber, approx ½ 200g red pepper, approx 1 small 100ml Jerez Sherry vinegar 700ml ice water 1 or 2 cloves of garlic, depending on your personal taste 200ml extra virgin olive oil salt and pepper
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From The Jack Cook Book: Volume One (£25 + £2.50 P&P, with £5 from every sale given to FORCE Cancer in Exeter). To buy, call 01404 822 240 or email info@jackinthegreen.uk.com