Based on the Spanish classic, gazpacho recipe, the traditional method of pounding the ingredients with a pestle and mortar is made much easier by using a blender. This is a recipe that actually tastes better if you make it ahead of time, as the flavours will develop and meld together while the soup is chilling in the fridge.
Preparation Notes: plus 4 hours (or overnight) chilling
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Yields:
6
Prep Time:
15 mins
Total Time:
15 mins
Ingredients
For the soup
500g (1lb 2oz) ripe plum tomatoes
250g (9oz) sunblush tomatoes in olive oil
100g (3½oz) marinated red peppers (preferably sun-dried)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 small red onion, finely chopped
6Tbsp. sun-dried tomato paste
23 tbsp red wine vinegar
A pinch of dried crushed chillies
Dash each of Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce (optional)
600ml (1 pint) vegetable stock
For the basil dressing
Leaves from 2 x 20 g packets fresh basil
6Tbsp. olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
Directions
Step 1
Put the plum tomatoes in a blender. Reserve six sun-blush tomatoes, then add the remainder to the blender with the peppers, garlic and red onion. Whiz until smooth.
Step 2
Add the tomato paste, vinegar, chillies, Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce (if using), and stock. Whiz briefly to combine. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and chill for at least 4hr, or overnight.
Step 3
To make the basil dressing, put all the ingredients in the blender and whiz until smooth. Pour into a jug, cover and set aside.
Step 4
To serve, spoon the soup into bowls, drizzle each one with the basil dressing, then garnish the top with a sun-blush tomato and a basil sprig, if you like. Serve with fresh bread.
Step 5
To serve. Buy a selection of cured meats, such as salami and Parma ham – around six slices of each. Put on a plate with a large ball of mozzarella – the one made from buffalo’s milk is deliciously creamy. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and heap some sunblush tomatoes on the plate, too. Empty a jar of artichokes marinated in oil into a bowl and put some olives in another. Serve with fresh bread and let everyone help themselves.
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
