Now that school’s started and everyone is back into their regular routine, we’re already thinking about winter meals, however when you look outside, the sun is still blazing and there are still a few of those local summer tomatoes to be had. Make the most of them with this easy cold soup that is great as an after-school meal and travels really well the following day and can be enjoyed al desko. Keep in vegan with croutons and nuts to garnish or if you want more protein in your diet top with a hard-boiled egg.
Gazpacho
Ingredients
- 1kg tomatoes
- 2 slices Maltese bread
- 1 clove garlic
- ½ small cucumber
- ½ green pepper
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1 tsp coarse sea salt
- ½ tsp chilli flakes (optional)
- 4 tbsp sherry vinegar
- Fresh pepper
Garnish
- Hard-boiled egg
- Diced cucumber
- Diced tomatoes
- Croutons
- Almonds
- Basil leaves
- Olive oil
Method
- Remove the crusts from the bread and discard.
- Tear the white parts of the bread and soak in water for 10 mins while you prepare the rest of the veg.
- Chop the tomatoes, cucumber and green peppers into rough pieces.
- Place in a food processor with the garlic.
- Squeeze the liquid out of the bread, reserving the liquid, and add to the food processor.
- Add the salt, pepper, oil and vinegar along with half a cup of the liquid the bread was soaking in.
- Blitz until smooth.
- Pass through a sieve if you prefer a smoother soup or leave a few chunks for a more rustic dish.
- Chill in the fridge for a couple of hours.
- Top with any garnish of your choice and serve.