Gazpacho

Summer time has arrived and so it is time for the rosé and the gazpacho! This has to be one of the easiest summer soups to make as absolutely no cooking is required! There are hundreds of recipes for gazpacho but what you want to produce is something which has bite and body rather than a poor salsa. This is why the selection of ingredients is so important. Originally a simple Hispano-Roman dish of oil and breadcrumbs with salt, garlic and no tomatoes, it later developed in Andalusia as a peasant dish to quench both thirst and hunger. It is an ideal course to serve as you can make it well in advance and it improves with age if kept in the fridge! 

Ingredients (serves 10):

10 large plum ripe tomatoes deseeded and chopped

1 clove of garlic

1 red onion finely diced 

1 cucumber deseeded and chopped

1 red bell pepper deseeded and chopped

2 celery stalks chopped

2 tbsp fresh chives finely chopped to serve

Sprinkle of balsamic vinegar to taste

Lemon juice to taste

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Up to 6 drops of Tabasco to taste.

Method:

Combine all the ingredients. Blend to desired consistency. Place in non-metalic non reactive storage container (preferably glass) cover tightly and refrigerate for a few hours up to 24 hours allowing flavours to develop and blend. Serve the soup ice cold with chopped chives (if desired as well as a few drops of good quality olive oil on top).