Gazpacho Soup

It is summer and at the end of an unbelievably hot day, the idea of a cold, chilled soup is so inviting. This one is simple to make and what really makes the dish are generous toppings of the garnishes before serving.

Serves 2
Ingredients
6 big, ripe tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
1 capsicum (green bell pepper)
1/3 cup tomato juice
1 tbsp vinegar (I use organic palm vinegar which tends to be quite potent, so I put just a dash)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 slices day-old bread
salt and pepper to season
1 -2 cups ice cold water

For the Garnishes
2 slices day-old bread
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 capsicum
1/2 or 1 cucumber
2 eggs

Method
Wash the tomatoes. In a deep pan, heat some water - when boiling, throw in tomatoes. In 2 mts or so, the skins should start splitting. Turn off heat and immediately remove tomatoes with a slotted spoon. When cool, peel skins off. Cut tomatoes in half, and scoop out pulp and seeds with a spoon. I usually place a seive over a bowl and put the discarded seeds and pulp in it. This way, any juices get strained and collect in the bowl underneath. Finely dice tomatoes and keep aside. Discard seeds and membrane from capsicum and dice finely. Dice garlic. Roughly chop bread.

In a mixie/blender, first put in capsicum and any juice collected in the bowl. Blend until semi-smooth. Add garlic, vinegar, olive oil, bread and tomatoes and blend until smooth. Add tomato juice, salt, pepper and blend to mix. Pour into a container and refrigerate for at least a couple of hours until chilled.

Before serving, prepare the garnishes. De-seed the capsicum, remove membrane and dice very fine. Hard boil the eggs, shell and dice fine. Peel cucumber and dice fine. Dice bread into crouton size cubes. Heat pan, add olive oil, then the bread and fry until brown and crisp.

To serve, mix the chilled water into the soup. Ladle into 2 serving bowls. Garnish with cucumber, capsicum, eggs and bread. Absolutely wonderful!