Mild Gazpacho
Gazpacho de lo más suave
This mild summer soup is wonderfully refreshing and can be served simply as a light tapa in a glass or fully garnished as a first course. This recipe offers the rich flavours of gazpacho but is easier to digest than the traditional version. A rich Amontillado sherry is an elegant match for the full flavours of Gazpacho.
1 small cucumber, about 5 inches in length
1/3 of a baguette, split open and toasted
2 lb / 500 gr ripe tomatoes
3 cloves of garlic, blanched
1/3 cup / 125 ml of extra virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoons of sherry vinegar
2 cups / 500 ml very cold water (Fill the measure with ice cubes and top up with water)Garnishes
4 slices of baguette – cut into cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ Vidalia or Spanish onion, finely diced
4 hard boiled eggs, finely chopped
½ red pepper, finely diced
4 slices of Serrano Ham, finely cut
Hardboil the eggs and cool in the cold water.
Peel the cucumber, remove the seeds if they appear tough. Cut it into fine slices. Layer the cucumber slices in a colander, sprinkling salt between the layers. Allow the cucumber to disgorge water for 15 minutes. Rinse the cucumber slices.
Put the peeled garlic cloves in a small microwave-safe bowl. Cover with half a cup of water and microwave on high for 1 or 2 minutes, allowing the garlic to boil for 20 seconds. Blanching the garlic this way gives the soup its wonderful flavour, while making it easy to digest.
Cut each tomato in half and grate using a coarse grater, discarding the tomato peel.*
Place the toasted bread, cucumber, tomatoes, garlic, sherry vinegar and water in a deep bowl. With a food processing wand, purée all the ingredients until smooth. Add the olive oil slowly and continue processing until the gazpacho is smooth.
Refrigerate at least 1 hour.
Meanwhile prepare the garnishes.
Toss the bread cubes in the olive oil. Bake them in the oven for 15 minutes or until golden.
Dice the Vidalia or Spanish onion – place in a sieve, sprinkle with salt and allow the onions to disgorge for 10 minutes. Rinse the onions and place in a garnish bowl.
Dice the red pepper and the hard boiled eggs.
Roll each slice of the Serrano ham into a roll and chop finely.
* As an alternative to grating the tomato and discarding the peel, you may also blanch the tomatoes in boiling water to remove the peel.