Gazpacho with Croutons

⏳ Time

20 minutes

🥕 Ingredients

🍽️ Servings

Description

Usually, bread and ice water are added to this soup, but I didn't want to do that — the consistency was already wonderful — why thicken it further and dilute it with water? So, 20 minutes before serving, I moved the soup to the freezer and the croutons on top. You might ask, where's the vodka? — ALWAYS! A chilled shot glass from the freezer and... voila!

Ingredients

Tomatoes - 10 pieces
Cucumbers - 3 pieces
Orange Bell Peppers - 2 pieces
Spanish onions - 2 pieces
Garlic - 3 cloves
Ciabatta - 1 piece
Basil - 1 bunch
Celery salt - 1 piece
Mild Chili Spice - 1 piece
Salt - to taste
Ground Black Pepper - to taste
Sugar - to taste
Malt Vinegar - 3 tablespoons

Step by Step guide

Step 1

First, prepare the croutons from the ciabatta: cut into cubes, drizzle with olive oil, mix with garlic, and season with salt. Toast in a preheated oven at 200°C (392°F) until lightly golden (do not overbake!).

Step 2

Chop good, ripe tomatoes (remove the green core) in a blender along with a small red onion and 3–4 cloves of garlic. Set aside in a bowl for the soup.

Step 3

Blend 2 cucumbers with a bunch of basil and two large red peppers. Mix everything with the tomatoes, add vinegar and finely chopped half of the chili pepper. NB! Remove the flesh and seeds from the cucumbers beforehand using a melon baller or simply scoop them out with a teaspoon.

Step 4

Mix everything together, add olive oil, salt, pepper, and if needed, sugar. Chill in the refrigerator.

Step 5

For the garnish — very finely chopped cucumber without seeds and red onion, croutons.

Step 6

When serving, pour the soup into glasses, add a tablespoon of the garnish, croutons, and decorate with basil and a young celery stalk. Drizzle a few drops of olive oil into each glass and add pepper.