Many people have only ever heard of the Andalusian soup Gazpacho. Often people are put off initially when they learn that it is in fact a cold soup, and lets face it, a cold soup sounds to many people like having to drink cold tea which is a far from pleasurable experience and just not something you do. However it is widely eaten in many parts of Spain and Portugal too (but they prefer to call it Gaspacho there)and known for its refreshing, cool qualities. Now I'm not saying that this is the kind of soup that should be devoured in large quantities during these far from warm months as it will probably turn each any everyone of you into an ice block, but I will say that a small bowl at the beginning of a lovely three (or four!) course meal can be a lovely experience, and easy to make to top it off. Now there are two diferent ways to make this dish, you can either go for the easy, easy way out and use flavour rather than a lot of substance (which my family favour), or you can chop all the vegetables up (alternatively you can grind them in a pestle and mortar if you are feeling experimental) thus leaving bigger chunks in your bowl at the end! I am on this occasion going for the easy and lazy option as I have a recipe left by my grandma which is very tasty and my mother has also consumed and made many bowlfuls of this splendid dish throughout her life.
you will need:
a liquidiser
1/2 cup of cold tomato juice
3 tbsps olive oil
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 sml onion, cut to squares
2 cloves garlic
1 green pepper
3 tomatoes, quartered
1 small cucumber peeled and cut up
3/4 a bottle of wine vinegar
Simply bung all the stuff in the liquidiser (make sure you put the top on!), then liquidise until smooth. Chill in fridge and serve with croutons or french bread or whatever you like really!!
Serves about 6.
There are many different variations on this dish, and each person or recipe will add something different to make it their own so don't be afraid to add new things once you feel comfortable!
