Gazpacho recipe by Angela Clutton

Recipe from the Borough Market website

(Image credit: Kim Lightbody )

The best gazpachos have several characteristics in common, said Angela Clutton: they are made with seasonal tomatoes, they are served super-cold, and they use a really good sherry vinegar.

Serve with the sherry vinegar bottle on the table too, so that people can add that all-important finishing touch of flavour and balance. I like my gazpacho quite thick, so that is how this comes – thin it down with water, if you prefer. There is no need to skin the tomatoes as they will be blended and strained before serving.

Ingredients: serves 4-6

1kg very ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 cucumber, peeled and chopped
1 green pepper, deseeded and chopped
80g slightly stale white or brown bread, torn into pieces
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 tbsp sherry vinegar, plus extra to taste
125ml extra-virgin olive oil

For the garnish (optional)

chopped hard-boiled egg
chopped spring onion
chopped cucumber
chopped mint croutons
sherry vinegar

Method

Place the tomatoes in a large bowl with the cucumber, green pepper, bread pieces, garlic, sherry vinegar (I recommend using a really good one, such as Valdespino at Brindisa) and half of the oil. Add a good pinch of salt, mix to combine, then cover and chill for about 2 hours.
Transfer to a blender and combine all the ingredients, adding the rest of the olive oil.
Season and strain into a bowl through a fine sieve, pushing with a spoon to get as much through as you can. Taste for seasoning – remember that chilling dulls the seasoning slightly – and take a look at the resulting soup. If it is too thick for your liking, you can thin it down at this stage with some water.
Chill until needed, then serve in small bowls or cups with a drizzle of sherry vinegar on top and your choice of garnishes, arranged on the table so each person can help themselves.
Alternative: rather than sherry vinegar, try finishing with a good balsamic, tomato balsamic, maple vinegar or cucumber vinegar.

Recipe from boroughmarket.org.uk, a website featuring recipes inspired by produce at the London food market. Angela Clutton is a food writer and presenter, and author of “Borough Market: The Knowledge”. Photography: Kim Lightbody.