Gazpacho
When I taste this I am transported back to Paris in the summer of 1993. I was shooting a film called Le Peril Jeune. I was the only English girl and I had been invited over to meet the rest of the cast at the lead actor’s apartment. His name was Romain. He was 19 years old, very cocky, funny, beautiful and super-talented – I have to say I fell a little bit in love with him! We spent the whole summer filming, going out partying and hanging around Paris, smoking, him teaching me verlant (French slang) and listening to Bob Marley, Cat Stevens and Miles Davis. He made this gazpacho that first night, and I will always remember it – so much so that I managed to track down Romain and ask him for the recipe! He was very happy to send it, and that’s how it ended up here. In the words of
Romain that summer… quelle histoire!
Serves 8
40 g (1. oz) white bread, crusts removed
500 ml (17 fl oz) iced water
2 garlic cloves, chopped
50 g (2 oz) onion, diced
400 g (13 oz) mixed red, green and yellow peppers, deseeded and diced
400 g (13 oz) tomatoes, skinned, deseeded and cut into quarters
300 g (10 oz) cucumber, peeled and diced
juice of . lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
500 ml (17 fl oz) tomato juice
1 teaspoon salt
To finish (optional)
150 g (5 oz) mixed red, yellow
and green peppers, deseeded and
finely chopped
75 g (3 oz) Spanish onion, chopped
Immerse the bread in the iced water and let it soak up the water. Transfer the bread to a food processor or blender and add in the garlic and onion. Blitz until it is a smooth pure. Set aside in a separate bowl.
Put the peppers, tomatoes and cucumber into the food processor or blender and blitz until smooth.
Pour the blitzed tomato mixture into a large bowl and add the lemon juice and olive oil. Also add the onion pur.e, tomato juice and salt and mix well. Cover and chill in the fridge overnight or for as long as possible (2 hours is really the minimum time).
When ready to serve, check the thickness of the soup and if you need to loosen it add some iced-cold water. Top with some mixed chopped peppers and onion or a selection of garnishes of your choice and a drizzle of olive oil.