Michael Caines' recipe for the perfect Gazpacho soup

“This cold vegetable soup, from southern Spain, was originally made by pounding the ingredients together in a pestle and mortar," says Michael Caine, the award-winning chef-patron of the Georgian country house hotel Lympstone Manor. "For the best result all vegetables must be ripe and the soup, once blended, should be left for 6 hours to marinate before serving, enabling the flavours to integrate. Seasoning is the key here too, playing on sweet, sour and salty to best effect."

Serves 4
Preparation time 25 minutes, plus marinating and chilling

Ingredients:

• 3 red peppers, roughly chopped
• 8 ripe beef or plum tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 1 small onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• ½ a cucumber, roughly chopped
• 1 clove garlic
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Cayenne pepper
• Sherry vinegar
• Sugar (if needed) For the garnish
• Cucumber, peeled, seeds removed, and finely diced
• Soured cream
• Basil oil
• Micro basil sprigs/small basil leaves

Method:

1. Put the chopped peppers, tomatoes, onions, cucumber and garlic in a food processor and blend to a rough purée. Transfer to a blender and continue blending until fine and smooth. Pass through a fine sieve into a bowl. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and leave in the fridge overnight, or for at least 6 hours.

2. After the soup has marinated, season with salt, cayenne pepper and vinegar to taste. For the garnish, put a spoonful of the diced cucumber in the bottom of each soup bowl. Pour over the soup. Serve ice-cold, garnished with a swirl of soured cream and a drizzle of basil oil and a sprinkle of basil sprigs or leaves.