This is a really easy and delicious gazpacho which is perfect as a starter or a light lunch on a sunny, summer’s day. I wasn’t a fan of gazpacho until relatively recently (about 7yrs ago) as my only experience of it had been a tasteless, tepid, watery borscht in a Hungarian restaurant on a work trip back in the 1990s.
My gazpacho atonement arrived courtesy of the Beach Club at Hotel Villa Cortes in Tenerife where we were served a beautiful, light, perfectly chilled, cold soup to kick off our lunch.
This recipe reminds me of that day, sitting at the back of the sandy beach, in the palm-frond shade of the Beach Club, listening to the sound of the ocean and enjoying summer in a glass.
For 2 servings:
- ½ a cucumber, peeled & seeded
- ½ large red bell pepper, stemmed & seeded
- 2lbs very ripe red tomatoes cut into ½-inch wedges.
- ½ a large shallot, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, finely grated
- 2tbsp sherry or wine vinegar
- Flaky sea salt
- 3tbsp olive oil
To decorate:
Cherry toms, quartered; chopped chives; reserved cucumber (see recipe); white, sourdough croutons (note: I forgot to add the chives and used parsley instead… chives are way better)
Method
- Cut 2” of the cucumber into ¼” pieces and set aside for decorating. Coarsely chop the remaining cucumber and place in a large bowl.
- Cut ¼ of the bell pepper into ¼” pieces and set aside for decorating. Coarsely chop the remaining pepper and add to the bowl with the cucumber.
- Add the chopped tomatoes to the bowl and toss with the shallot, garlic, 2tbsp wine vinegar and 1tbsp (I use ½) flaky sea salt. Leave to stand at room temperature for 30mins to allow the flavours to meld.
- Transfer contents of the bowl, along with residual juices, to a blender, drizzle with 3tbsp olive oil and blend until smooth.
- Drain the blend through a coarse sieve, into a serving bowl, gently stirring and pressing to extract all the moisture. Chill for an hour or more.
- Meanwhile, dry fry some sourdough bread pieces to serve as crispy croutons.
- Divide the gazpacho into shallow serving bowls, decorate in the centre with the reserved cucumber and pepper, the chives, and the cherry tomatoes.
- Add croutons at the last minute and serve.
Note: The gazpacho can be made a day ahead and kept, covered, in the fridge overnight.
