On a hot summer night, there is nothing more refreshing than a bowl of chilled soup.
The most well-known chilled soup is Gazpacho. This is a tomato-based blend of peppers, onions, cucumbers and a long list of other vegetables blended and spiked with vinegar or lemon. I love a spicy bowl of gazpacho, but when I make this chilled soup, I like to keep the recipe as simple as possible with the least amount of ingredients. It’s summer, after all, why would I wish to be stuck indoors cooking fancy meals.
Chilled soups are most refreshing when chilled completely in the refrigerator (not just at room temperature). You can also make them in advance and indeed the flavours intensify, so they are even better.
Here is my favourite chilled Gazpacho recipes from Leith’s Bible. It serves 6.
INGREDIENTS
- 900 grams very ripe tomatoes
- 1 large onion
- 2 red peppers
- 1 small cucumber
- 1 thick slice gluten free white bread
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 garlic cloves
- 6 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon tarragon vinegar
- 450 grams tinned tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon tomato puree
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Sea salt
INSTRUCTIONS
- Chop the tomato, onion, red pepper and cucumber
- Set aside as a garnish
- Roughly chop the remaining vegetables for the blender
- Put the bread, yolk, and garlic into a blender and blend
- Add oil in a thin steady stream to the mix
- Add the vinegar and all soup ingredients and blend until smooth
- Sieve to remove the tomato seeds
- Adjust seasoning to taste
- Serve icy cold and garnished with the chopped vegetables
