As summer warms up and the tomatoes begin to ripen it’s time for a cold soup. We discovered the joys of gazpacho while living on Rusalka through the heat of a Mediterranean summer. In France it is available in waxed cartons in the refrigerated section of the supermarket, making it an easy choice to accompany our dinners of salad, cheese, olives and meat terrine.
Gazpacho can be made ahead and brought already chilled in a sealed container for a refreshing and classy first course on board. Just don’t forget the garnishes!
For the soup
- 500g ripe tomatoes, quartered and deseeded
- 1 lebanese cucumber, peeled and coarsely chopped
- 1 red and 1 green capsicum, deseeded and coarsely chopped
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/2 small red onion, chopped
- 1 slice of bread, torn into pieces
- ~ 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups (500ml) tomato juice
- Salt and pepper
For the accompaniments
- red capsicum
- spring onions
- cucumber
- chopped fresh herbs (eg chives, basil, mint, coriander)
- croutons (or toasted bread, in cubes)
- Blend all soup ingredients until smooth. Check for taste (if bland a splash of balsamic vinegar or sherry can help) and season. Chill soup for at least 2 hours.
- Prepare the accompaniments towards the end of the chilling time. Deseed and cut the red capsicum into small cubes, thinly slice the spring onions and cut the cucumber into small cubes. Place each accompaniment in separate small serving dishes.
- Ladle the soup into bowls. Serve at once, offering the accompaniments and salt and pepper so that they can be added to taste as the soup is eaten.
