Gazpacho

Photographer: Adam
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While I haven’t had the opportunity to travel to Spain yet, it’s definitely near the top of my list ‘places in the world I have to make it to one day’. Andalusia in the southern region of Spain is where this recipe originates from – with its Mediterranean climate, history and great food, it sounds like a great place to visit to me. Andalusia is also the home to bullfighting, flamenco, the guitar itself and tapas – that great finger food that encourages conversation and eating at the same time.

As the photographer it was not without a little trepidation that I decided to step out from behind the camera and produce something of my own. I decided that gazpacho with its no cooking and few ingredients wasn’t too much of a challenge for my culinary skills.

As the song from ‘The Mighty Boosh’ says Gazpacho is a summer soup. I was intrigued the first time I had this cold tomato soup but it definitely goes down well on a hot summer’s day – or any day in my book.

INGREDIENTS

Soup
650g tomatoes (tomatoes with a high solid content and fewer seeds are best, such as Roma or San Marzano), cored and quartered
½ cucumber, peeled and chopped
¾ green pepper, cored seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled
¾ cup olive oil
1 pinch cayenne pepper
juice of half a lemon
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
2 pinches sugar
Salt to taste

Topping
1 loaf Ciabatta bread
Extra virgin olive oil
10 cherry tomatoes, halved
½ cucumber, peeled and chopped
4 shallots, peeled and chopped
2-3 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
Balsamic vinegar

METHOD

For the soup
1. Add all of the measured and prepared ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.
2. Taste for a nice acidity, adding a little more sugar or balsamic vinegar to balance it out.
3. Strain the liquid – you might need to push the pulp through the strainer with the back of a spoon if the strainer has a fine mesh.
4. Refrigerate until chilled.

While the soup is chilling, prepare the topping.
1. Slice the ciabatta loaf. Take half and cut into crouton size pieces, fry in a little olive oil until golden and then set aside.
2. Take the other half of the bread slices and grill or lightly fry to serve on the side.
3. To serve – pour the chilled gazpacho into bowls, add a few of the cherry tomato halves, a few pieces of cucumber and some shallot pieces. Sprinkle over some chopped mint and drizzle a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar around the bowl.