My Gazpacho

I reckon we are overdue for a recipe. Welcome to my Gazpacho…a silky, refreshing, raw and ripe summer moment!

Ingredients:

For the Soup…

Fresh Tomatoes
Day old bread
Onion
Garlic
Red (& Orange / Yellow if you can) Bell Peppers
Olive Oil
Red Wine Vinegar
V8
S&P

First coarsely chop 3/4 of your tomatoes, onions & bell Peppers and set aside. With the remaining fresh ingredients carefully dice them into small and equal sizes, douse with a touch of red wine vinegar, S&P and refrigerate. Next, cube day old bread, set aside half for your croutons and pour V8 (or choice Tomato / Vegetable drink) over the remainder. Give it a few minutes to soak in.

In batches blend first the soaked bread, a healthy handful of the coarsely chopped ingredients, a single garlic clove, a drizzle of olive oil, S&P, a teaspoon of red wine vinegar and Tobasco sauce to taste. Remove from blender and work the mixture through a fine sieve into a large bowl. Repeat process until you have a smooth(ish) soup base. Taste the mixture. Ask yourself what and if it needs more of? Return the mixture to the blender and even out your flavors according to your and /or your guests palette. Drizzle in Olive Oil as you blend to aerate the soup. Refrigerate the soup for a minimum of 4 hours.

For the Breadcrumbs…

Day old bread, cubed with the crust removed

Unsalted Butter

S&P

Chopped Parsley

Crushed or finely chopped Garlic

In a non stick skillet heat the butter until it begins to bubble on a medium low heat. Add the bread crumbs, garlic, and parsley and let it all rest for a minute in the pan, then move em all around until they are golden brown.

To Serve:

Ladle in your soup. Put a heaping spoonful of your nicely diced chilled ingredients and cover with bread crumbs. If you have a particularly good Olive Oil on hand, give it a drizzle for shine!