Gazpacho

I seem to have been on a soup kick of late. What better way to continue that as the mercury rises than by having cold soup for International night as a pre-course to my paella. Like the paella I looked at several different recipes before deciding on one to use, and even then I completely disregarded some parts of it and added other things. The thing that will make the biggest single difference in my opinion is the ripeness of the tomatoes. Mine were from the farmer's market and were so fresh and flavorful. Find some for yourself and try this recipe. It's great!

 

Ingredients

• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons Sherry vinegar (preferably "reserva"), or to taste
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (optional)
• 2 1/2 lb ripe tomatoes, cored and quartered
• 1/2 cup mild extra-virgin olive oil (preferably Andalusian hojiblanca)

Preparation

Mash garlic to a paste with salt using a mortar and pestle (or mince and mash with a large knife). Blend garlic paste, bread, 2 tablespoons vinegar, sugar, cumin, and half of tomatoes in a food processor until tomatoes are very finely chopped. Add remaining tomatoes with motor running and, when very finely chopped, gradually add oil in a slow stream, blending until as smooth as possible, about 1 minute.

Force soup through a sieve into a bowl, pressing firmly on solids. Discard solids.

Transfer to a glass container and chill, covered, until cold, about 3 hours. Season with salt and vinegar before serving.

*I added chopped cucumber and tomatoes to garnish it.