Gazpacho

Hi guys!

It's Monday once again, so today's recipe is going to be meat free. Vegan actually... And as summer is in full swing and it's nice and warm out, I've decided to go with a classic recipe from Spain... Gazpacho. This tomato-based soup is served cold and incredibly refreshing. And it's easy to make. The recipe is from Gwyneth Paltrow's "Notes from my kitchen table".

Here's the recipe:
8 ripe vine-ripened tomatoes, peeled and cored
1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded and roughly chopped plus more diced for serving
1 red roasted pepper (I used grilled peppers, like the ones served as an antipasto, from the store)
1/2 red onion, peeled and diced plus more for serving
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2 teaspoons coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
50g 1cm bread cubes, cut from day-old sourdough, rustic bread, ciabatta or the like
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 lime, halved
croutons, for serving

1. Heat water over high heat until it's boiling. Carve an x in the bottoms of the tomatoes and put them in the water for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Immediately put them in ice water. The skin will slip off easily. Core the tomatoes and roughly chop them.

2. Peel, seed and roughly chop the cucumber. Peel and dice the onion and the garlic.

3. Put the cucumber, tomatoes, garlic, onion and pepper in a blender and blend a little. Add the bread cubes, olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper. Whizz away until it's as smooth as you like.

4. Chill for at least 1 hour before serving. Season to taste with more salt and the juice of the lime - you want enough acid to make it taste bright and fresh, but not limey. Serve with croutons, diced onion and cucumber.

Serves: 4
Active preparation time: 20 minutes
Total preparation time: 20 minutes plus at least 1 hour cooling
© Copyright: Gwyneth Paltrow: "Notes from my kitchen table", p. 62

Here's how mine turned out:

It takes a little work to chop the vegetables and peel the tomatoes, but you'll get it done pretty fast and it's worth the work. I chose to serve my gazpacho with just a little diced cucumber, as I don't like the taste of raw onions. I also left it quite thick, but you could certainly blend it more until it is very smooth if you like it better that way. The gazpacho is really refreshing because of the cucumber while the roasted pepper adds depth of flavor and the tomatoes make you feel like the sun is shining outside. The lime juice brightens things up as well. 

Have fun trying and treat yourself to a little refreshment!