Murcia is quite a nice place. I find myself here by accident (cheapest little break I could get with Jet2) to find a nice city that I could definitely live in, but not really a tourist place, although there are some lovely buildings and a few good restaurants so maybe I'm doing it an injustice.

I'm probably a bit down on the place because I'm in a hotel rather than an apartment: it's very rare that I feel like I don't want to cook so eating out bores me quickly when I'm in this situation. Especially as a few tomatoes, anchovies, olives, almonds, oil (I could go on) and capers are as beautiful as they are in this beautiful country.

One of the cures for that is that I've been drinking espresso in the hotel by way of breakfast (I know), and then heading to a supermarket to pick up gazpacho for elevensies.

I make gazpacho quite a lot in the summer and sometimes buy it ready-made from Lidl (the only place you can really get it in the UK, and then only in Iberian Week).

It's pretty good, but you need to freshen it up a bit. The one I'm drinking here is better but could still do with a bit of extra vinegar and salt. And at home you would drizzle more oild in and garnish with lovely chopped things.

I take it to the river where, across from the pretty (aren't they always in Spain?) market, there is a fountain. The sound of the weir behind me on the river and the fountain in front make my little bench one of the nicest places I've sat for a long time. The shade in a southern-Spanish August is also part of the allure.

Making gazpacho just needs a blender and a fridge. Ideally make it the day before you want to eat it, but to be honest it's lovely anyway. See tip below to speed it up for eating a few hours after you make it. You'll want to chill it right down anyway so you won't be eating it straight away.

Shop-bought

1. buy it
2. if you are by a river in Murcia, drink it from the bottle or if you are at home go to step 3
3. taste it
4. it'll probably need a dash of sherry vinegar and maybe some salt. A kicker would be a clove of garlic crushed to a paste with a little salt (see the tip about cucumber)
5. chill it for a couple of hours to let the garlic flavour soften

…or make it; click on the picture below to go to my recipe

Tips

I haven’t tried leaving the bread out, but I don’t think it needs it really so I’m going to call it and say I won’t be using it any more unless I try it and it’s rubbish)

Salt the onion for half an hour or so then wash it under the tap in a colander. It will still be a bit salty but should be ok - don't season the soup until the end - it may not need it.

The garlic will already be crushed with a little salt too so it won't be too harsh either. In Spain the white onions are sweet anyway, and in Blighty you can use a few spring onions instead, but I think salted red onion is best in the UK.

The fresh and beautifully refreshing taste of cucumber is often the obvious thing that's hard to find in shop-bought gazpacho. It's worth blitzing and adding some if you can be arsed. Or serve it with a Hendricks Martini ?

Alternatives

Different fruit. That's it.

Strawberries are a bit sweet although you balance it with a bit more cucumber and with vinegar - I like it but it's not better than the original in my view, and the mango one I had here a few days ago was just weird.

Watermelon would be nice, and I think apples would work - I'll try that when I get home. Consider leaving the bell pepper out if going for a fruitier flavour.