SEASONAL SPANISH RECIPE: Traditional Gazpacho served ice cold for those hot summer days

100g stale crusty white bread, soaked in cold water for 20 mins
1kg over ripe tomatoes, diced
1 ripe red pepper and 1 green pepper, de-seeded and diced
1 medium cucumber, peeled and diced
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
150ml extra virgin olive oil
2tbsp sherry vinegar
Salt and white pepper to taste

Method

1. Mix the diced tomatoes, peppers and cucumber with the crushed garlic and olive oil in the bowl of a food processor or blender. Squeeze out the bread, tear it roughly into chunks, and add to the mixture.

2. Blend until smooth, then add the salt and vinegar to taste and stir well.

3. Pass the mixture through a fine sieve, then cover and refrigerate until well chilled. A top tip is to take some of the mixture and freeze into ice cubes (1 per serving) and this will ensure the soup is ice cold when you serve it.

4. Serve with garnishes of your choice: Here are some suggestions, garlic oil croutons, diced black olives, hard-boiled egg, small pieces of cucumber and pepper, mint or parsley, spring onion, cubes of Spanish ham or prawns.