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To make
Put the tomatoes, cucumber, pepper, onion, garlic and olive oil into a food processor and process until they are well blended and smooth – you will need to scrape down the bowl to get it all mixed in.
Add the vinegar, salt and pepper and whizz again.
Check the seasoning and adjust to taste
At this point, some people like to pass the soup through a sieve to make it really smooth but I actually prefer the texture of it unsieved – it's a personal preference.
Pour into a large bowl or jug and chill in the fridge for at least two hours
To serve, pour the gazpacho into chilled bowls, add ice cubes and put a spoonful of the chopped pepper, cucumber and egg (if using) onto the top. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with chopped basil.
Serve immediately
Gazpacho
A wonderful Spanish iced soup which is ideal for hot summer days. To be fair, the Spanish will only eat this if the weather is really hot (and in Spain – that means HOT!), but it's still good even on cooler British summer days.
This really is salad in soup form – which sounds a bit odd but it is fresh and delicious as a summer lunch. It's wonderful made with fresh tomatoes – great if you grow your own and have a bit of a glut – but it works well with tinned tomatoes as well.
It does need to be ice cold though – I once had a slightly lukewarm serving and it really wasn't nice. Iced bowls and some prettily-shaped ice cubes keep it chilled and add to the appeal.
Ingredients serves 4
6-8 ripe tomatoes (depending on size), chopped, or 2 cans chopped tinned tomatoes
½ cucumber, roughly chopped
½ large or 1 small red pepper, deseeded
½ red onion
1 clove garlic, peeled
3 tblsps olive oil
1 tblsp red wine or sherry vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
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To top
½ red pepper and 10cm piece of cucumber, finely chopped
1 hard-boiled egg, finely chopped
A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
Sprinkle of fresh chopped basil leaves (optional)
2-3 ice cubes per person