Gazpacho: a traditional Andalusian dish with fresh summer vibes and a flavourful kick!
Easy, delicious, cheap, healthy, and COLD, this gazpacho is the perfect heatwave-proof lunch.
Okay, so cold soup might sound unappetizing to the average Irish person.
But keep in mind this isn’t just any tomato soup – it’s chock full of raw, fresh veggies, packed with both flavour and vitamins, and on a hot day like today it’s more refreshing than a dip at Blackrock (minus the jellyfish!)
Plus, it only takes about 20 minutes to make. Seriously.
And even better – there’s no cooking involved, so making this won’t heat up your kitchen!
You will need a blender or food processor, though (unless you want to chop or hand-mash the ingredients together as per Spanish tradition).
Makes about 1 litre of soup.
Ingredients:
1-2 slices stale bread, crust removed
Cold water
Extra virgin olive oil
400g ripe tomatoes (about three or four medium-sized ones)
1 clove garlic
2 small stalks celery
1/3 cucumber – peel if desired
1/2 red pepper
1/4 red onion
Handful fresh coriander
3 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp cumin
Pinch of cayenne
Salt and pepper to taste
Steps:
Soak the bread in about 1/2 cup cold water while roughly chopping up the veggies and putting them into a blender or food processor.
Add a couple of glugs of olive oil, the white wine vinegar, salt and pepper and the spices.
Use more cayenne if you like it spicy! Keep in mind the soup won’t be cooked so you’ll need more spice than usual.
Throw the bread in there and blend it all together until smooth, adding more cold water as needed to reach a nice soup-like consistency.
Adjust the spices or add more veggies to get it just the way you like it, then chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
Serve with a coriander garnish and bread drizzled with olive oil and salt or balsamic vinegar.
This will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days, so you can enjoy it as long as the hot weather lasts!
