the best summer soup ever!

The other morning, I woke up thinking about soup. During the colder months I make homemade soup every week, and now it’s been months since I’ve made a good pot of soup.  

I kind of miss the homey-ness and ease of just ladling a hearty a bowl to sip for lunch or as part of dinner, but it’s been so darn HOT out! 

That’s when gazpacho came to mind. I’ve had gazpacho while on vacation a few times, and I can tell you, on a really hot day, this chilled soup is really refreshing! 

And guess what?! It’s the easiest thing to make! It requires no cooking, yay! You simply blend all the ingredients up and put it in the fridge to chill. That’s it!    

What’s better than the flavor of garden-fresh tomatoes and cucumbers anyways? The addition of garlic, olive oil and a few other essential ingredients really combine to form one amazing flavor!  

Fabiana's Gazpacho 

2 cups of sourdough bread, toasted, crust cut off, and cubed  

2 garlic cloves, finely grated 

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper 

2 pounds ripe tomatoes, preferably beefsteak, seeded 

1 four-inch piece English cucumber, peeled and seeded 

1 one-inch-thick slice red bell pepper 

2 teaspoons apple cider or red-wine vinegar 

1 teaspoon sherry vinegar (optional) 

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling 

1 cup cold water, plus more for soaking 

optional: croutons for topping 

Directions: 

Cover bread with cold water, and let soak for 15 minutes.  

Place garlic in a blender. Squeeze excess liquid from bread, and transfer bread to blender. Add 2 teaspoons salt, the tomatoes, cucumber, red bell pepper, and vinegars. Puree until smooth. With machine running, pour in oil in a slow, steady stream, blending until emulsified.  

Blend in cold water. Season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate gazpacho until chilled, at least 3 hours (or up to 1 day). 

Divide chilled gazpacho among 6 bowls. Drizzle with oil, and top with croutons just before serving. 

This chilled soup only gets better with time. I made this on Sunday, and we finished it off on Tuesday, and it was even better on the last day!  

This recipe is also a great way to use day-old French bread. Just substitute for the sourdough, which is something I always have on hand. 

Bon appetit!

or as they say in Spain...

Buen Provecho!

ciao! fabiana

 

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