Gazpacho (cold tomato soup)

And because it was so hot these past days, here comes the recipe for cold tomato soup, i.e. Gazpacho – a very refreshing starter or main dish for a summer evening. When in Mallorca a couple of years ago, I discovered in a restaurant that they put strawberries on the table to add into the soup: very yummy indeed!

 

Ingredients (for 4 persons):

800g ripe tomatoes

2 onions

2-3 garlic cloves

1 cucumber

1 green & 1 red capsicum (bell peppers)

200g bread (can be toast bread)

100g strawberries

3 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. wine vinegar

Salt, pepper

Preparation:

Skin the tomatoes and cut them into quarters. The easiest way to peel tomatoes is to put them into boiling water for 20 seconds and then to shock them with icewater. Cut the onions, cucumber, capsicum and bread. Put ¼ (of the tomatoes, cucumber, onions, capsicum and bread) away for the “topping”. Purée the rest of the vegetables and the garlic with the oil and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper to your taste. Cool the soup in the fridge (preferably for a couple of hours, but if time is short, just add ice cubes). Before serving, roast the leftover bread (cut into cubes) in oil or butter. Cut the strawberries into small cubes and serve all the vegetables together with the soup.