Mark Hix recipe: Spiced tomato and prawn soup

Serves 4-6

Place the prawns in the centre and spoon the tomato mixture around them (Jason Lowe)

Try to buy the best and largest prawns possible for this – do that and the dish will look stunning.

1 red onion, peeled and finely chopped
2tbsp rapeseed oil
1 medium red chilli, chopped
500ml vegetable stock
500g ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 firm tomato, finely chopped
A handful of coriander leaves, chopped
1tbsp olive oil
4 large seawater prawns, heads removed and shelled (reserve the shells and heads)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Gently cook the red onion, cumin seeds, chilli and prawn shells in the rapeseed oil for 2-3 minutes until soft, then add the vegetable stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes; add the tomatoes and simmer for another 10 minutes.

Remove from the heat and blend in a liquidiser until smooth; strain through a sieve into a clean bowl. Leave to cool as per the other soups.

Mix the chopped tomato with the olive oil and coriander and season to taste. Season the prawns, heat a griddle or frying pan, rub with a little oil and cook the prawns for a minute or two on each side.

To serve, spoon the soup into soup bowls – it is much better if these have been cooled in advance – place the prawns in the centre and spoon the tomato mixture around them.