Start a simple yet sensational late summer lunch with some autumn flavour.

Recipe: Ruth pretty Photos: Carolyn Robertson

INGREDIENTS

1.25kg ripe tomatoes, cores removed, roughly chopped
½ large cucumber, peeled and chopped
1 medium red pepper, de-seeded and chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped
75g crustless sturdy white bread, such as ciabatta or sourdough, torn into chunks
1⅓ cups cold water
2 teaspoons flaky sea salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
½ cup sherry vinegar
2 avocados, halved, stone removed, peeled, roughly mashed
juice of ½ a lemon
60g soft goat cheese
6 basil leaves, thinly sliced
3 large cherry tomatoes, cut in half width-wise, seeds removed, to create six neat shells
½ cup extra virgin olive oil

METHOD

Put the tomatoes, cucumber, red pepper, garlic and bread into a food processor. Pulse briefly until the vegetables are still chunky and just combined. Tip into a bowl and stir in water, salt, pepper and vinegar. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour for the bread to swell and the flavours to blend, then stir through the extra virgin olive oil. The soup should have quite a tang to it. Sprinkle avocado with lemon juice. Divide the soup between 6 bowls and add a dollop of avocado to each.

Put a heaped teaspoon of goat cheese into each cherry tomato half and smooth the surface. Gently put a cherry tomato half into each bowl, then scatter over the basil leaves, drizzle with oil and serve. Serves 6

COOK’S TIP: If the goat cheese is very firm, mash it with about a tablespoon of cream until it reaches a soft consistency.

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