Domestic Sluttery: Sluttishly Savoury: Gazpacho
I'm off cooking at the moment. It's just too hot to bear the thought of ovens and flames and scrambling about in cupboards. I want fresh, raw food that fills me up, makes me feel healthy, and packs a flavourful punch. Bonus points for being able to make huge vats of said food - and TREBLE RECIPE SCORE for being easy to cart around for lunches throughout the week.
Step forward, Gazpacho: King of the Chilled Soups. The Spanish had the exact right idea when they created gazpacho. Masses of veggies (and a little bread), whizzed up, forgotten about in the fridge for a couple of hours, and BAM - ladleful upon ladleful of delicious, refreshing soup. It lasts for ages (providing you don't scoff it all), and this recipe lends itself to increasing the quantity as you so desire.
2-3 slices thick white bread, crusts removed (should be around 100g once the crusts are off)
1 red pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped (leave a small piece for the garnish)
1 cucumber, peeled and sliced thickly (set aside a 2-inch piece for the garnish)
The remaining cucumber, finely chopped
The remaining red pepper, finely chopped
Rip up the bread and place in a bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of the sherry vinegar, plus the crushed garlic cloves. Pour on 100ml of cold water, give everything a sploosh around, and set aside while you get on with the rest. In a large bowl or jug, cover the whole tomatoes with boiling water. Leave for about a minute, then rinse under cold water. Peel the tomatoes (the skin should now slide off easily), then quarter them and remove the seeds and core into a sieve over a large bowl. Retain the juice and flesh, and throw away the skins, seeds and fibrous stuff. In a food processor, or in a very large bowl with a blender on a stick (I believe the correct terminology is 'hand blender', but since hand blending is exactly what mine once did to me, I just can't bring myself to call it by its proper name), blitz the soaked bread, garlic, tomato flesh and juice, peppers, onion, cucumber, remaining tablespoon of sherry vinegar, paprika and olive oil (a simpler thing to say might have been EVERYTHING, but I'm just making sure we've accounted for all the ingredients here).
When the soup is roughly blended, pause to taste and season. Stop there if you prefer a coarse soup, or carry on blending until it's smooth if that's more your thing.
Cover, and chill in the fridge for 2-3 hours. Serve with some chopped spring onion, cucumber and red pepper on top of each bowlful.
Weep with gratitude for the Spanish nation and their lovely, lovely gazpacho. The tears will cool you down.
Caleigh17 July 2013 at 16:34I want to stick my face in that gazpacho! Gluten free bread goes mental when added to liquid, but I could make this without the bread, right? ReplyDeleteRepliesLaura B19 July 2013 at 18:08Yeah, you definitely can make it without the bread. Lots of recipes omit it completely. I might reduce the amount of cucumber slightly to stop it being too watery. Mama B, on seeing this comment, emailed me especially to tell you that a few gluten-free croutons on top would be a good idea. She's the best. DeleteSiany19 July 2013 at 18:09Can we get a Mama B guest recipe? I kind of love her.DeleteCaleigh19 July 2013 at 18:32Mama B is a genius! I'm very excited about gazpacho with gf croutons now.DeleteLaura B20 July 2013 at 12:55Oh, we can SO get a Mama B guest recipe! DeleteReplyLove Miss Daisy Vintage18 July 2013 at 17:10Awesome recipe gals! If you love gazpacho go see our friends @ChoGazpacho on Twitter, new brand of bottled gazpacho in 4 amazing flavours! ;) xReplyDeleteRepliesLaura B19 July 2013 at 18:09Cor, they sound delicious! DeleteReplyAdd commentLoad more...
Domestic Sluttery: Sluttishly Savoury: Gazpacho
I'm off cooking at the moment. It's just too hot to bear the thought of ovens and flames and scrambling about in cupboards. I want fresh, raw food that fills me up, makes me feel healthy, and packs a flavourful punch. Bonus points for being able to make huge vats of said food - and TREBLE RECIPE SCORE for being easy to cart around for lunches throughout the week.
Step forward, Gazpacho: King of the Chilled Soups. The Spanish had the exact right idea when they created gazpacho. Masses of veggies (and a little bread), whizzed up, forgotten about in the fridge for a couple of hours, and BAM - ladleful upon ladleful of delicious, refreshing soup. It lasts for ages (providing you don't scoff it all), and this recipe lends itself to increasing the quantity as you so desire.
2-3 slices thick white bread, crusts removed (should be around 100g once the crusts are off)
1 red pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped (leave a small piece for the garnish)
1 cucumber, peeled and sliced thickly (set aside a 2-inch piece for the garnish)
The remaining cucumber, finely chopped
The remaining red pepper, finely chopped
Rip up the bread and place in a bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of the sherry vinegar, plus the crushed garlic cloves. Pour on 100ml of cold water, give everything a sploosh around, and set aside while you get on with the rest. In a large bowl or jug, cover the whole tomatoes with boiling water. Leave for about a minute, then rinse under cold water. Peel the tomatoes (the skin should now slide off easily), then quarter them and remove the seeds and core into a sieve over a large bowl. Retain the juice and flesh, and throw away the skins, seeds and fibrous stuff. In a food processor, or in a very large bowl with a blender on a stick (I believe the correct terminology is 'hand blender', but since hand blend
ing is exactly what mine once did to me, I just can't bring myself to call it by its proper name), blitz the soaked bread, garlic, tomato flesh and juice, peppers, onion, cucumber, remaining tablespoon of sherry vinegar, paprika and olive oil (a simpler thing to say might have been EVERYTHING, but I'm just making sure we've accounted for all the ingredients here).
When the soup is roughly blended, pause to taste and season. Stop there if you prefer a coarse soup, or carry on blending until it's smooth if that's more your thing.
Cover, and chill in the fridge for 2-3 hours. Serve with some chopped spring onion, cucumber and red pepper on top of each bowlful.
Weep with gratitude for the Spanish nation and their lovely, lovely gazpacho. The tears will cool you down.
Caleigh17 July 2013 at 16:34I want to stick my face in that gazpacho! Gluten free bread goes mental when added to liquid, but I could make this without the bread, right? ReplyDeleteRepliesLaura B19 July 2013 at 18:08Yeah, you definitely can make it without the bread. Lots of recipes omit it completely. I might reduce the amount of cucumber slightly to stop it being too watery. Mama B, on seeing this comment, emailed me especially to tell you that a few gluten-free croutons on top would be a good idea. She's the best. DeleteSiany19 July 2013 at 18:09Can we get a Mama B guest recipe? I kind of love her.DeleteCaleigh19 July 2013 at 18:32Mama B is a genius! I'm very excited about gazpacho with gf croutons now.DeleteLaura B20 July 2013 at 12:55Oh, we can SO get a Mama B guest recipe! DeleteReplyLove Miss Daisy Vintage18 July 2013 at 17:10Awesome recipe gals! If you love gazpacho go see our friends @ChoGazpacho on Twitter, new brand of bottled gazpacho in 4 amazing flavours! ;) xReplyDeleteRepliesLaura B19 July 2013 at 18:09Cor, they sound delicious! DeleteReplyAdd commentLoad more...