Really good-quality, organic produce can be expensive, but when a vegetable is in season and abundant, naturally, its price drops. This brings higher-quality, seasonal produce, such as beetroot, say, to a similar price point as imported ones such as peppers. Which is why you may be lucky enough to come across a seasonal bargain at the market, such as a bag of super-juicy, ripe tomatoes.

Imported, conventionally grown tomatoes are picked under-ripe and refrigerated, then ripened via a chemical process before going on sale. This process helps reduce waste, true – but it does take its toll on flavour.

Seasonal tomatoes grown in the sun, in healthy soil and picked at the right time taste so much better and don’t need any special treatment, because of the shorter food chain.

So if you find cheap, ripe ones, snap them up and make this soup; you just won’t get the same flavour with supermarket tomatoes.

Tomato and bread soup

About 45,000 tonnes of tomatoes are wasted in our homes every year, most of them perfectly ripe and delicious, which is a sin greater than many. It’s common practice to deseed, blanch and peel tomatoes for soup, but I think that’s an unnecessary waste of time, effort and money. Choose the ripest tomatoes you can find – they’ll have the most flavour and should be cheaper, too (if they aren’t, it’s always worth a haggle).

1 good glug extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for serving

1 garlic clove, peeled and roughly chopped

600g very ripe tomatoes, cut into large pieces, plus a few tomato vines (if available)

80g stale bread crusts, torn into pieces

2 sprigs basil, stalks finely cut, leaves left whole

Put a glug of oil in a medium saucepan over a medium heat, add the chopped garlic and let it bubble for a few seconds. Stir in the tomatoes, and their vines, if you have them, bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to a simmer and leave to cook slowly for 30 minutes. Add enough boiling water to create a soup-like consistency and remove and discard the vines. Add the bread, stir and season to taste – the soup will turn wondrously thick.

To serve, stir in a good glug of extra-virgin olive oil, a few basil leaves and their chopped stalks, and reserve a few leaves to place on top.