I can’t think of a better use for properly ripe tomatoes than a refreshing and elegant chilled bowl of gazpacho. It’s also a great way to use up stale bread (I tend to opt for wholemeal, but any will do). I like to remove the cucumber peelings and dark green spring onion tops to preserve the soup’s vibrant red colour, but nothing goes to waste: the offcuts go into a beautiful and flavoursome garnish, along with croutons and olives.
Gazpacho
Ripe tomatoes mean summer, and summer means gazpacho. As a seasonal eater, I rarely eat tomatoes in winter, preferring instead to wait for tasty, sun-ripened ones. Gazpacho is an especially good test of a tomato’s quality and flavour – flavourless tomatoes mean flavourless gazpacho, after all. That’s why I wait until tomatoes are in glut, economical, ripe and epically delicious, before whizzing them into this classic Spanish soup. Most chefs use white bread in their gazpacho, mainly to try to maintain that bright colour, but brown bread, especially sourdough, tastes better and improves the overall flavour of the soup without negatively affecting its colour.
Makes 4 large bowls, or 8 small starter portions
4 slices stale wholemeal bread (220g)
100ml extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for frying and serving
Salt and black pepper
200g cucumber
1 red pepper
2 spring onions, trimmed
600g very ripe tomatoes
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 tbsp sherry or white-wine vinegar
1 tbsp smoked sweet paprika (optional)
12 pitted black olives, kalamata for preference (optional)
Tear the bread into rough pieces, then gently fry a third of them in extra-virgin olive oil until golden brown all over. Season and put to one side – you’ll use the croutons to garnish the soup later.
Peel the cucumber with a knife, making sure to cut off a small piece of the flesh along with the skin, then cut the peelings into small cubes and set aside. Deseed, stalk and finely dice the red pepper, and put aside a fifth of it for garnish. Cut the dark green parts off the spring onions, then finely slice.
Put the cucumber flesh, remaining diced red pepper and the white parts of the spring onions in a blender, and add the remaining unfried bread, 200g ice (or cold water), 200ml water, the tomatoes, garlic, 100ml extra-virgin olive oil, the vinegar and smoked sweet paprika, if using. Blitz smooth, season to taste, then adjust the vinegar, if necessary. Chill in the fridge, or serve immediately topped with the croutons, diced cucumber peel and red pepper and sliced spring onion greens. Finish with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and torn olives, if using.
