Gazpacho Recipe

Serves 8
Meal type Cucumber, Tomatoes
Season Spring, Summer

Ingredients

  • 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
  • 1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
  • 3 pounds ripe plum tomatoes, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 1/4 cup sherry vinegar
  • 1/4 cup Oloroso sherry
  • 3/4 cup Spanish extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 1 inch-thick slices rustic bread
  • 1/4 cup Spanish extra-virgin olive oil
  • 12 cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1/2 cucumber
  • Sea salt to taste

Directions

1 To make the soup, combine the cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, garlic, vinegar, sherry, olive oil and 2 cups of water in a food processor or blender. Puree the ingredients until everything is well blended into a thick pink liquid. Pour the gazpacho through a medium-hole strainer into a pitcher. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
2 For the garnish: Preheat oven to 450˚F. Cut the bread into 1-inch cubes and toss in a mixing bowl with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Spread the bread on a baking sheet and bake on the middle rack until golden brown, about 7 minutes. Set the croutons aside to cool.
3 When you are ready to serve, slice the cucumber into ribbons with a vegetable peeler. Put a few croutons, cherry tomato halves and cucumber ribbons in each bowl and pour the gazpacho over them. Drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle with salt