Gazpacho

Recipe provided by Gaby Holland

Serves 4 – 6 as a starter or 8 – 10 as shooters

Ingredients

• 1kg tomatoes, blanched, peeled and seeded 
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 spring onions, chopped
• 2 stalks of celery, chopped
• 1 medium cucumber, peeled and chopped
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced and mashed to a paste with ¾ tsp salt
• 3 tbsp red-wine vinegar
• 75ml good extra virgin olive oil

Garnish for soup 

• 2 spring onions, diced
• ½ red pepper, diced
• ½ green pepper, diced
• 1 hard-boiled egg, diced croutons
• Garnish for shooters 
• sprig of celery/nachos/ slice of lime

If serving as shooters you may add 2 tbsp Worchester sauce, 1 tbsp Tabasco sauce and 2 or 3 shots of vodka

Method

1. Put the chopped tomatoes, onions, garlic and cucumber, celery and garlic in a blender and whizz until smooth. You may pass the soup through a fine sieve 2 or 3 times to obtain a smother texture but I find it unnecessary. 
2. Put the mixure back in the blender and slowly add the olive oil and sherry vinegar and season well.