Summer Gazpacho by Carina Contini, Owner of Contini George Street, Cannonball Restaurant & Bar, and The Scottish Cafe & Restaurant

The vast range of Scottish tomatoes around at the moment makes July the ideal month for gazpacho. This is a dish that doesn’t actually require any cooking, but fresh, good quality ingredients are essential. 

Fabulous, full of flavour, ripe tomatoes and wonderful cold pressed olive oil are the fundamentals of gazpacho, but you’ll also need a little time and a lot of patience. It’s vital that this soup gets time for all the flavours to marinate and infuse. Ideally, prepare it 8 to 10 hours ahead of time.

Packed with vitamins, and utterly refreshing on a sunny summer’s day, gazpacho is surprisingly filling. We serve this with our tasting menu at Cannonball as a pre-starter to stimulate your palate.  The cold soup and the hot bread is perfect for dunking. I dare you to resist.

For more information, see www.contini.com

Ingredients: 

1 kilo ripe red tomatoes (use plum variety if possible)
1 cucumber, skinned and deseeded
2 small salad onions, white bulb only - keep the green leaves for decoration
1 clove garlic, peeled and sliced
1 green chilli, deseeded
Lime wedges
Fresh coriander
2 teaspoons of sherry vinegar
2 teaspoons of salt
100ml of olive oil
1 tablespoon of Glengoyne 10 Year Old whisky (optional) 


Method: 

1.    Blanch the tomatoes in boiling hot water to remove the skins.
2.    Blend the tomatoes, cucumber, salad onion, garlic and chilli in a food processor for a few minutes. 
3.    Slowly add the sherry vinegar and salt. 
4.    Using the pulse setting on the blender, drizzle the olive oil in slowly, as if you were making mayonnaise. Keep the blender moving as the oil will help thicken the soup. Add more oil if you feel the consistency isn’t stiff enough.
5.    Sieve the soup and discard the rough seeds. 
6.    Check the seasoning, adding more salt if required. 
7.    Transfer to a clean bowl or jug, cover with cling film and chill overnight. 
8.    Stir the soup before garnishing with some wedges of fresh lime, a little finely chopped coriander and a few very thin slices of the green part of the salad onion- or simply add a dash of Glengoyne and you’ll be happy! 
9.    Serve with wedges of country sourdough bread, chargrilled and rubbed with garlic, and drizzled with a really good cold pressed olive oil. 

In association with Taste Communications, Scotland’s food and drink communications company www.tastecommunications.co.uk