Mary Berry’s Gazpacho
Refreshingly light and full of flavour, Mary Berry's Gazpacho is packed with tomatoes, peppers and cucumber for a light summer starter.
Introduction
A classic cold soup made from raw summer vegetables. This traditional dish originates from the Andalusian region of Spain where it is served cold due to the hot summer climate. To skin the tomatoes, make a cross with a small knife on the stalk end, then plunge into boiling water for about 50 seconds to loosen the skin. Transfer them to cold water and the skin should come away easily.
Ingredients
| 55g (2oz) | white sourdough bread, crusts removed |
| 1kg (2lb 4oz) | medium very ripe tomatoes, skinned |
| ½ | large cucumber, peeled, deseeded and roughly chopped |
| 1 small | garlic clove, finely grated |
| 1 | red pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped |
| 1 medium | banana shallot, roughly chopped |
| 4 tbsp | extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling |
| 2 tbsp | white wine vinegar |
| 1 tbsp | tomato purée |
| ½ tsp | sugar |
| For the garnish: | |
|---|---|
| 1 | tomato, deseeded and very finely chopped |
| ¼ | cucumber, peeled, deseeded and very finely chopped |
| ¼ | red pepper, deseeded and very finely chopped |
Essential kit
You will need: an electric hand blender or food processor.
Method
Tear the bread into pieces and place in a bowl. Add 150ml (¼ pint) water and leave to soak for 10 minutes.
Cut each tomato in half, discard the hard central stem, keeping the seeds, and slice the tomatoes into quarters.
Place the tomatoes, cucumber, garlic, pepper, shallot, oil, vinegar, tomato purée and sugar into the bowl with the bread. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Whiz with an electric hand blender or food processor until smooth.
Pour the soup into a jug and chill in the fridge for 1 hour.
Spoon the gazpacho into bowls, drizzle with olive oil and garnish with the chopped vegetables. Serve well chilled.
Mary’s Tips
Can be made up to 2 days ahead.
