Gazpacho

Gazpacho is a cold soup which is very refreshing in the hot summer weather in Spain. It is an incredibly healthy option involving plenty of raw vegetables along with bread and olive oil.

The following ingredients are what I use but you should experiment a little to get it to your exact taste. Perhaps you prefer more or less vinegar or more or less olive oil. The quantities of bread and water you use will change the thickness of it.

Do make notes of what you prefer so that next time you make it you don’t have to begin experimenting all over again.

 Gazpacho Ingredients

For 6 – 8 people

• 1 1/4kg ripe tomatoes
• 1/2 medium onion
• 1/2 standard cucumber
• 1 green pepper (the long thin type) or 1/2 a bigger pepper
• 1 cup olive oil
• 2 soup spoons vinegar
• some stale bread – this quantity can vary depending on taste – I use very little
• some cold water
• 3 ice cubes

To garnish you need a small amount of:

• diced tomato
• diced green pepper
• diced cucumber

You also need a food blender.

Preparation

The tomatoes should be peeled and de-seeded. To peel them place them in boiling water for about 30 seconds then into cold water and then when you remove them the skins should come off easily. Alternatively you could follow what I do and decide not to peel them to avoid the messing around. I actually like having the seeds in the Gazpacho but you should decide for yourself.

Then chop up the tomatoes, onion, cucumber and green pepper. Don’t worry about chopping them too small as they are all going into the food blender.

Now put some of each ingredient in the blender and blend. Transfer the mix to a bowl and continue to blend all the ingredients. This should result in a “chunky” soup. I like it this way but most people prefer it to be completely smooth.

If you want this smooth soup then put the gazpacho through a sieve. This will get rid of the tomato seeds and skin if you left them on and any other lumps. At this stage you can add water to get the thickness that you want. I tend to not add very much as I like a thick soup.

Once you have done all this put the gazpacho into a serving bowl, add the ice cubes and put it all in the fridge to chill.

Put the diced tomato, cucumber and pepper on a plate and serve with the Gazpacho.