Summer time. It conjures up images of ice cream. Beaches. Sand. Stone fruit. Crickets chirping. And for me…tomatoes!
I have always associated tomatoes with summer. There’s something about this sexy fruit that hypnotises every part of me. I can never resist eating them or photographing them for that matter.
Last year I made a bruschetta that combined the classic Italian Caprese ingredients as a topping. The year before I made an easy salad, marvelling in joy at the simplicity and availability of different heirloom tomato varieties.
This summer I want to celebrate with gazpacho. Yep! We’re having soup! “Sopa Espanol“.
I can tell you now quite honestly, that if you had asked me to eat this a number of years ago I would have laughed in your face!
“Cold soup?”…yeah right!
But things change as do tastebuds. (I know I have written about it a few times before but I seriously was a terrible eater as a child. I put my parents through hell. Yes. I was one of those children that had separate meals cooked for them…now back to our gazpacho!)
And here I am now, preaching the wonders of this glorious elixir. Gazpacho really does celebrate the best of summer. It’s a brilliant combination of crisp cucumber, sweet capsicums and plump, juicy, ripe tomatoes.
Throw in some stale bread, garlic and olive oil and you create a nectar good enough for any god!
As you can imagine there are numerous recipes for gazpacho on the internet.
In the end, I adapted a recipe from Jamie Oliver’s “Jamie Does Spain, etc…” cook book.
I loved his recipe immediately but being me, I had to chop and change it slightly. I added some chopped chilli to the mix because I quite like the chili and tomato combo. The only other thing I did was add some feta cheese as a garnish. I couldn’t resist a “Greek touch“.
This soup needs to be served cold. Anything less and you wouldn’t be doing it any justice.
Go ahead…make some!
Just a note: I’m trying something different for the recipe today. I’ve presented it a little different. You can now download the pic below as a pdf and save it to your favourite device. Let me know what you think. Cheers!
Hi! I'm Peter. Welcome to Souvlaki For The Soul. My "little" space on the web. My blog is choc full of recipes, travel stories and photos. Have a good look around and enjoy your time here. Cheers!
{ 29 comments… read them below or add one }
Beautiful photos,Peter.Love the green photo of capsicum and cucumber! Never tried cold soup before but the photos beg me to give it a try.I’m sure it’ll be delicious.
I was the same. But now I love it with all the warmer weather we’re having!
There’s nothing like ripe, sweet and fresh tomatoes. In fact it’s so hard to find them! I’m always raiding my dads veg patch when I’m visiting, literally eating the ripe tomatoes off the vine, with a little salt.
This is such a gorgeous way to celebrate this beautiful fruit!
I was a picky eater too and no way would I have tried this soup. Glad I’ve changed, It looks great and here in Nashville we still get weird warm days in winter so cold soup is always appropriate. I couldn’t get the print recipe to work.
If you click on the image Angela it’s a downloadable pdf…I just tested it and it works ok. Cheers!
Delightful! That is a summer soup I adore and make a lot. So refresing and tasty. Yous looks marvelous.
Cheers,
Rosa
Jamie Oliver would approve of the addition of chopped chills in this delightful soup Peter. Tomatoes have always been a favourite with heirlooms rising to star status around here.
Oh I love both! I’ve tried different kinds of gazpacho but my favorite will always be the original tomato version
The photos are incredible. Can’t wait to try this recipe out.
Now you got me singing Summer Lovers! Love Gazpacho but will have to wit for northern hemisphere summer.
I think I’ll join you on the ex-fussy-eater-cold-soup-hater bench! I never thought about having it with chilli but now that you’ve mentioned it, I can’t imagine having gazpacho without a kick now. Love the recipe card too (now waiting with baited breath for a Souvlaki for the Soul e-magazine).
Great picture great layout very attractive article
Your photos are amazing. Can’t wait for summer to enjoy some cold soups but for the moment this year it’s colder than any other winter and need lots of hot soup.
**swoon** i absolutely fall in love with tomatoes during the summer months- straight off the vine from my garden – your photos in this post are so romantic- beautiful!
Olé! I love gazpacho but, more importantly, I love the story you wove around the dish with your photos.
I love cold soup. I love how beautiful your soup looks. Now is the perfect time to make this in Queensland. I wonder, gazpacho for Australia Day? I think yes!
Love gazpacho and love your Greek touch, as always. Glad you are into cold soup. Jealous of your ripe tomatoes.
I’m a huge gazpacho fan, never thought I would be. What little time I spent in Spain was spent slurping down gazpacho any opportunity I got. They sell it in the supermarkets their, in cartons (like milk). It’s been a long time since I’ve made any though. Thanks for the reminder.
Absolutely stunning pictures! I was just cruising around the internet looking at other food blogs and I’m so glad I came across yours. Subscribed and FB liked!
I have the same affection for tomatoes. I think of summer the moment I see them. And this soup is perfect for the season. Love the clicks, Peter. And the soup looks fantastic.
Cant wait till Summer comes! Beautiful pictures!
Your vibrant photos recall the warm days of summer, a lovely winter interlude. Delightful post!
that soup looks delicius, and that green plates are great!
Very nice Peter! My tomatoes are getting fully ripe, perfect for this.
I haven’t made gazpacho in such a very long time but these delicious pictures are surely the inspiration…perfect for our summer!
I discovered gazpacho last year and you’ve just reminded me how good it is. I had a housemate who poured it into bowls containing a few blacks of ice and grilled bread with olive oil – a way to ensure it’s absolutely cold and the contrast of the crunchy bread that progressively melts into the soup just lifts something wonderful into a celebration.
I agree with Francesca – it needs a couple of ice cubes to keep it really cold while you eat it!
Still loving your blog Peter!
There is a middle of winter in my Poland so I’m really jealous watching your juicy summer tomatoes and the gazpacho
Beautiful photos!
I’ve always wanted to know how to make this. Thanks for the recipe.
Also, the recipe card is a good idea
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