Andalusian Gazpacho with Claus Meyer

Well, quite Andalusian, other than being slightly less heavy on olive oil and having an added touch of apple vinegar. By adding sugar and apple vinegar to the tomatoes we enhance the natural flavours and acidity of the tomatoes and simply make them taste much more ”tomato’y” – which is exactly what we crave up here in Northern Europe.

6-8 people as a starter

Ingredients:

100 g white bread without crust – a day old or so

1.5 dl water

1 kg very ripe tomatoes

1 red pepper

2 cloves garlic

0.5 dl apple vinegar

0.5 dl extra virgin olive oil

ice cubes

sugar

sea salt

fresh pepper

chilli – fresh or dried

Garnish:

One small cucumber

One small onion

Method:

Soak the bread in the water. Squeeze out the water and then blend the bread with the rest of the ingredients (except the ice cubes). A food processor is OK, but I normally use a proper blender. Season with sugar, vinegar, salt, pepper and chilli (minus seeds). Let the soup rest in the fridge for at least an hour, adjust the taste and consistency, if needed, with water or ice cubes.

Cut the cucumber, lengthwise, and scrape out the seeds. Chop it up in small cubes, and the onion in even small cubes.

Pour the soup up into chilled plates (add ice cubes if necessary). Add cucumber, onion and, if you want, a drizzle of olive oil on top.