A Taste of Summer: Gazpacho Recipe

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The essence of summer in every spoonful.

Escape the summer heat with my vibrant vegan gazpacho – a refreshing blend of ripe tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, and zesty herbs, blended to create a bright and flavourful soup. This chilled Spanish classic bursts with freshness, a simple, light, and nourishing meal.

To me, a chilled Riesling is a perfect match to help elevate this wonderful easy recipe of mine. I have chosen the Allendorf dry Reisling 2017 from our wine list, which pairs beautifully with its bright acidity and subtle fruit notes, contrasting and balancing the soup’s vibrant flavour.

Full tasting notes

Allendorf Riesling 2017 offers vibrant and expressive tasting notes. Expect bright citrus and green apple flavours, complemented by hints of stone fruit like peach and apricot. The wine features a refreshing acidity with mineral undertones, adding structure and depth. Its balanced sweetness and crisp finish make it a versatile choice for pairing with light summer dishes like gazpacho, enhancing their fresh, fruity flavours.

Gazpacho

Serves 8

Prep time 20 minutes – marinade overnight and 10 minutes to finish

Ingredients

1kg vine ripened tomatoes, roughly chopped

1 red onion, peeled and roughly diced

1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped

1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed

1 red pepper, seeded and roughly chopped

1 cucumber, peeled, diced, seeded and roughly chopped

50ml red wine vinegar

400ml tomato juice

100ml olive oil

20g coriander leaves

1tsp salt

20g sugar

Basil Oil

40g basil leaves

100 ml olive oil

½ lemon

Pepper

Basil Qil

Method

Cook the basil leaves in boiling salted water for 30 seconds, strain and set the water aside. Blitz the basil with the olive oil, adding 2 teaspoons of the cooking water and continue blitzing until pouring consistency. Taste to check seasoning, adding a squeeze of lemon, salt and a twist of pepper. Transfer to a squeezy bottle.

Gazpache

In a large bowl, place the tomatoes, red onion, chilli, garlic, pepper, cucumber, red wine vinegar, half the tomato juice (setting aside the extra 200ml to correct consistency later), olive oil, coriander, salt and sugar. Roughly blitz with a stick blender, cover and refrigerate overnight.

To Finish

Using a top blender, blend the soup mix until silky smooth. The gazpacho may need a little extra tomato juice for pouring consistency, use the extra 200ml if needed. Taste to check seasoning.

To Serve

Ladle the chilled gazpacho into bowls and dot with basil oil.

Another Tip Top recipe.

David Moore, Founder and Owner of Pied à Terre.