Instructions: Roast the pepper and chilli in a hot (220C/425F/gas 7) oven to blister and remove the skins (or blister over an open flame). Peel them, seed and core and chop into fine dice.

Rest all the vegetables, cooked prawns and ginger in a bowl with the sherry vinegar and olive oil for a couple of hours in the fridge. When ready to serve, blend everything together in a processor, using the tomato and V8 juices to ensure all the chunks are evenly broken down. Add the lemon juice, breadcrumbs and seasonings and whizz around for another few seconds and then taste.

Add the hot sauce, gradually so as not to overdo the heat. Try not to process the soup so fine as to render it like a puree. Leave the texture slightly coarse or, alternatively, process half or two-thirds of the mix very smooth and add the coarser part last to give some texture.

Keep the soup chilled until needed. Serve in chilled bowls and scatter some shredded crab meat with a couple of jumbo prawns for garnish. Some people add a cube or two of ice, but dont bother. It dilutes the soup and is only really there for effect. If the soup is well made and well chilled it wont be in the bowl long enough to get warm!

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