Spicy chilled virgin Mary soup
Start your romantic dinner with a chilled summer tomato soup spiked with Tabasco - a sort of virgin Mary - that you can make ahead of time. All you have to do on the spot is top it with goat's cheese and fresh herbs, cracked black pepper and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. No stock is required when you use a tomato-vegetable juice such as V8 as the base - and feel free to add a splash of chilled vodka if that's what turns you on.
Ingredients
250g ripe tomatoes, halved and seeded
350ml tomato juice (V8 style)
1 tsp castor sugar
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp horseradish cream
Dash of Tabasco sauce
Sea salt and black pepper
To serve
60g goat's cheese log
2 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 small pink radish, very finely sliced
Oregano or flat parsley leaves
Cracked black pepper
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Method
Finely chop the tomatoes into small dices and place in a bowl. Add the tomato juice, sugar, vinegar, olive oil, horseradish, Tabasco, sea salt and black pepper, stirring well. Chill until required. (For a smoother soup, puree in a blender.)
Taste the chilled soup for spiciness, then divide between two stemless chilled glasses. Top with a slice of goat's cheese, halved cherry tomatoes, a few radish slices, oregano or parsley leaves, cracked black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.
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Jill Dupleix is a Good Food contributor and reviewer who writes the Know-How column.
