Gazpacho

Gazpacho has become a well known & well loved cold soup that is easy to make & a great starter to impress your dinner guests on a hot day. It is also charming served as a hors d'oeuvre in little shot glasses or expresso cups. The key is that the gazpacho must be very, very cold with a minimum of 6 hours in the fridge. This soup is originally from Andalusia in the south of Spain. There are many versions out there including some I find rather odd (why the fruit?) though I personally love the original, traditional way of making this soup. You can opt to serve it with a little finely chopped fresh basil scattered over the top or why not, a few mini croutons. For the vegan version, simply leave out the hard boiled egg.

4 Servings

Ingredients:

1kg ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped

1/2 cucumber, peeled & roughly chopped

1 red pepper, de-seeded & roughly chopped

1/2 white onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 slice of wholemeal bread, torn into bite-sized pieces

1 hard boiled egg, chopped

4 tbsp xeres vinegar

5 tbsp olive oil

3-4 fresh basil leaves

S&P

Instructions:

Using a blender, finely blend all ingredients until as smooth as possible.

For a more refined texture, pass the soup through a sieve, using the back of a tablespoon to push the soup through. If you prefer a chunkier, more rustic soup you can skip this step.

Season with salt & pepper & allow to cool in the fridge a minimum of 6 hours or overnight.