Ingredients
| GAZPACHO | |
| 1 tablespoon olive oil | |
| 1 slice of stale white sourdough | |
| 2 garlic cloves, sliced | |
| 1 red pepper, deseeded and chopped | |
| 500g ripe red cherries, stoned | |
| ½ cucumber, peeled and diced | |
| 300ml (1¼ cups) tomato juice | |
| 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar | |
| 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus 2 tablespoons extra | |
| TOPPINGS | |
| 2 tablespoons olive oil | |
| 1 thick slice of stale white sourdough, cut into small cubes | |
| 1 thyme sprig, leaves picked | |
| ½ small red onion, very finely chopped | |
| 50g goat’s cheese, crumbled | |
| ¼ cucumber, peeled and finely diced | |
| 1 handful fresh basil leaves | |
| extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling | |
| sea salt and freshly ground black pepper |
Many customers and friends are surprised when they learn that gazpacho can be made with such a variety of things, having always thought that gazpacho is just made with tomatoes. And yes, the classic tomato gazpacho is the most popular and well-known, but we love to get creative with it. Gazpacho is essentially a cold soup that can be smooth or textured, thin or thick. Here I’m making it with cherries, because I grew up with some of the best cherries in the world.
View the recipe collection here
Instructions
| 1. | For the soup, heat the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium- high heat and fry the bread on both sides until golden. |
| 2. | Put into a bowl with the rest of the gazpacho ingredients (except for the extra 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil) and allow to sit for a couple of hours. |
| 3. | For the topping, heat a little of the oil in a frying pan over a medium-high heat. |
| 4. | Add the cubes of bread and the thyme and fry until you have golden croutons. |
| 5. | Drain on a plate lined with paper towels and season. |
| 6. | Blitz the soup really well with a hand-held blender, then push it through a coarse sieve into a jug. |
| 7. | Whisk in the 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil. |
| 8. | Pour into 4 bowls and top with all the toppings, along with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. |
This is an edited
extract from The
Spanish Home Kitchen
by José Pizarro,
published by Hardie
Grant Books in 2022,
RRP $55. Available
in stores nationally.
Photography by
Emma Lee.