The weekly gather: a stunning cold soup

You'll want to make this spritely, refreshing and pretty-as-a-pictire soup all through the summer. No cooking involved.

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This soup is glorious on a hot day, eaten under a shady tree in the garden, in a cool kitchen or even from a thermos if you’ve ventured out for a picnic.

Cooling tomato, almond and mint soup

This gorgeous soup puts overripe tomatoes and stale bread together in a blissful union. It’s my version of pappa al pomodoro, the classic Italian cold soup, and I think it’s tastier than gazpacho.

Serves: 4
Preparation: 5 minutes plus at least 2 hours chilling time

750g ripe tomatoes, chopped
75g stale bread, torn
40g blanched almonds
3 garlic cloves, chopped
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
½ tsp fine sea salt, or to taste
3 large mint leaves, plus finely sliced leaves
Thinly sliced ham, chopped small or shredded
Good extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Put the tomatoes, bread, almonds, garlic, oil, salt and mint in a blender and blitz until completely smooth. Push the mixture through a sieve set over a bowl, pressing down on any solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Return the liquid to the blender (discarding any solids) and add a splash of water if too thick. Blitz again. Taste and add more salt or mint if needed (there should be just a hint of the latter). Chill, ideally at least for a couple of hours, and then transfer to a thermos flask. Serve topped with inely sliced mint and ham (if using) to sprinkle on top.