British spring tomato gazpacho with sweet pickled tomatoes

Ingredients

Gazpacho

500g of baby plum tomato, roughly chopped

1/2 cucumber, roughly chopped

1/2 red pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped

1/4 red onion, roughly chopped

10 basil leaves

15ml of Cabernet Sauvignon vinegar

10ml of olive oil

5g of salt

5g of sugar

150ml of tomato juice

Sweet pickled tomatoes

12 cherry tomatoes

100ml of white wine vinegar

50g of sugar

1 sprig of thyme

100ml of water

To serve

1 handful of cherry tomatoes, halved

40g of fresh peas

40g of toasted pine nuts

extra virgin olive oil

Basil cress

Micro pea shoots

Edible flowers

Serves 6
Prep time: 60 minutes
Cook time: 24 hours pickling and infusing

Suitable for vegetarians

Method

1. Start with the pickled tomatoes the day before serving. Bring the white wine vinegar, sugar, thyme and water to a boil in a pan then set aside to cool

2. Char the skins of the cherry tomatoes with a blowtorch, or under the grill, so that they are blackened all over. Cool quickly in a bowl of ice and water then peel and discard the charred skins 

3. Add the peeled tomatoes to the cooled pickling liquid, cover and allow to pickle for 24 hours 

4. At the same time, mix together all the gazpacho ingredients (excluding the tomato juice) in a bowl and leave to infuse for 8 hours, or overnight 

5. In the morning, tip all the gazpacho ingredients into a blender and process until fully combined then pour through a fine sieve to create a smooth soup 

6. Stir through the tomato juice to loosen the texture slightly then season to taste and chill in the fridge

7. When ready to serve, pour the soup into dishes and drizzle with a little olive oil

8. Garnish the edge of the soup with some of the pickled tomatoes (drained from their liquid), the fresh tomatoes, peas, pine nuts and decorate with delicate leaves and edible flowers

Recipe courtesy of www.greatbritishchefs.com