Gazpacho

Ingredients

• 1 kg very ripe tomatoes
• 1 cucumber, peeled
• 1 red pepper
• 80 g stale bread, crusts off
• 1 small garlic clove
• 100 ml good olive oil
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar (sherry vinegar if you have it)
• salt, to taste

Method

1. The tomatoes decide everything

   Chop the tomatoes, cucumber and pepper roughly. This soup is raw, so it can only taste as good as the tomatoes going in — out of season, do not bother.

2. Soak the bread

   Tear the bread and soak it in a little water, then squeeze it out and add it with the garlic. The bread is not filler: it is the emulsifier that lets the oil hold in suspension.

3. Blend, then emulsify

   Blend the vegetables and bread until very smooth, then pour the oil in slowly with the motor running until the colour lightens to orange-pink. That colour change means it has emulsified and will not separate in the fridge.

4. Season and chill

   Add the vinegar and salt, then chill for at least two hours. Cold blunts flavour, so taste again once it is cold — it will almost certainly want more salt and more vinegar than it did warm.

   2 h

5. Serve

   Serve properly cold with a thread of oil on top. Some people pass it through a sieve first for a silkier texture; it is worth doing if you have the patience.