I love tomatoes like they’re going out of fashion! And now the tomatoes in gardens up and down the country (including mine!) are ripening up nicely, I thought I’d share my seriously tasty and healthy gazpacho recipe with you.
Serves 6
2kg ripe tomatoes
2 red peppers, chopped
Olive oil
1 bundle spring onions
1-2 pieces of stale bread
Red wine vinegar
2tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
Salt, to taste
Sweetcorn, to serve
Fresh green chilli, finely diced, to serve (optional)
Spring onions, thinly sliced, to serve (optional)
Preheat oven to 200°C / Gas Mark 6
Place the tomatoes and peppers, a drizzle of olive oil and freshly ground pepper and a teeny bit of salt (to bring out the tomatoes’ sweetness) on 1-2 baking trays and roast in the pre-heated oven.
Roast for 30-40 minutes, turning once so they don’t stick. You want them to brown slightly.
Remove tomatoes and peppers from oven and allow to cool. While you wait, chop the green stems of a bundle of spring onions.
Break bread into pieces and drizzle with a good glug of red wine vinegar and 2tbsp olive oil.
Add the tomatoes and spring onions to a blender in batches and blend till smooth. Retain 1/4 blender of liquid and add the soaked bread. Combine bread mix and all blended tomatoes. Season to taste.
Leave to cool entirely, pop in fridge to really chill through.
To serve, chargrill fresh (or tinned but unsalted) sweetcorn till charred. Then add to soup. I also love a small chilli kick, so you can also add finely sliced green chilli or some finely sliced spring onion.
