Like a lot of us this year, Lee and I are taking a staycation here at home in West Wales this year - mainly due to the pandemic and being busy making natural skincare products for you lovely people - so we thought instead we would bring our favourite places in the world, to us.
So what better way of bringing a little bit of Conil in Andalucia back to us here in Pembrokeshire, than my favourite Summer Spanish recipe - Gazpacho!
This cold tomatoey, peppery, cucumber packed dish is so, so easy to make and it is perfect for hot Summer days like it is today here at Langford HQ.
The key to making great gazpacho, is finding the most freshest, most ripest tomatoes you can find - as well as the best extra virgin olive oil you can get and the delicious, tangy hit of sherry vinegar.
My Gazpacho Recipe – serves four to six people (depending on how greedy you are!)
1 kilo of very ripe tomatoes - cut into chunks or quarters
1 cucumber - peeled and cut into chunks
1 green pepper - sliced
1 piquillo pepper or roasted red pepper (optional)
50g of good quality stake white bread - with the crusts removed
2 cloves of garlic - crushed to a paste in a pestle and mortar, with a little salt
2 tablespoons of sherry vinegar
Pinch of sugar - to your taste
Large pinch of salt & pepper
150ml of good quality extra virgin olive oil
To garnish - entirely optional and your choice, but I would use some and all of the following - finely diced cucumber, tomatoes, spring onions, edible flowers (like nasturtiums), parsely or basil.
Put the chopped tomatoes, bread, cucumber and peppers into a food processor or blender and pulse until smooth. Add the garlic, sherry vinegar, sugar, salt & pepper and the olive oil and pulse again.
You can now either sieve this for a completely smooth gazpacho, or leave it as it is with the bits in for a thicker style soup - it's entirely up to you!
Pour into a jug or bowl, cover with cling film and then keep in the fridge for an hour or so to really chill it down - the colder the better.
When you serve, please garnish as you wish! I like finely diced cucumber for added crunch, as well as some edible flowers and basil leaves for extra colour and taste.
If the weather is really scorchio, try adding some extra ice cubes to the soup to make it extra, extra cold.
Enjoy! x
