Gazpacho

Preparation

1. Wash all the vegetables thoroughly under cold running water.
2. Quarter the tomatoes. Peel the cucumber and cut it into chunks.
3. Halve the bell peppers, remove the seeds and white membranes, then cut them into small pieces.
4. Peel the onion and trim away the stem and root ends.
5. Peel the garlic cloves, halve them lengthwise, and remove the green germ from the centre.
6. Place all the prepared vegetables in a blender, Thermomix, or use an immersion blender. Blend for at least 5 minutes, until the mixture is completely smooth.
7. Pass the purée through a fine-mesh sieve. For best results, press the mixture through using the back of a ladle, extracting as much pulp as possible while leaving the tomato seeds behind.
8. The finished soup should have the consistency of lightly whipped cream.
9. Add the salt and vinegar, then blend once more.
10. With the blender running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil to emulsify the soup. Taste and adjust the acidity. If the gazpacho is too tart, add a small amount of sugar to balance the flavours.

To Serve

• Place a small mound of finely diced vegetables—such as cucumber and bell pepper—in the centre of each serving bowl using a plating ring approximately 5 cm in diameter.
• Carefully pour the chilled gazpacho around the vegetables from a small pitcher, then garnish with a sprig of curly parsley before serving.