Starters Recipes - Gazpacho Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 slices white bread (crusts removed, torn into pieces)

• 900ml/1 1/2pt tomato juice

• 6 ripe plum tomatoes

• 1 red onion

• 1 red pepper

• 1 small cucumber

• 3 garlic cloves

• 1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

• 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

• Salt and pepper

For the croutons:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 2 slices soft white bread (crusts removed, cut into 1 cm/1/2in cubes

Serves 4-6

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Method:

1. Put the bread in a large bowl and cover with the tomato juice. Plunge the tomatoes in just-boiled water for 30 seconds and skin. Cut them in quarters, strip out and discard the seeds, then cut the flesh into lcm/1/2in cubes.

2. Cut the red onion into 8mm/1/4in slices. Grill the red pepper then place in a plastic bag for 5 minutes, then remove the skin and dice the flesh.

3. Peel the skin from the cucumber. Cut cucumber lengthways into lcm/1/2in slices, then cut these into strips and finally cut these strips into cubes.

4. eel and chop the garlic cloves as finely as you can.

5. Stir all these together with the tomatoes into the contents of the bowl. Add the Tabasco sauce and sherry vinegar. Season generously with salt and pepper. Put Clingfilm over the top and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight.

6. To make the croutons, season the olive oil and toss the cubes of bread in it, then fry them gently in a non-stick pan until they are nicely crisp and golden brown.

7. Ladle the chilled gazpacho into 4 to 6 soup bowls and scatter the croutons on top.