AND I’m back….

Can we not talk about my inconsistency, my lack of inspiration, the one hundred and three books I read and the gazillion cartoons I watched since I last blogged?

Please?

Let us instead talk about the four countries I visited, the people I met, the food I ate, and the photos I didn’t take..

I know!

I’m terrible.

But I am paying for my sins.

I don’t fit into my jeans anymore, you see.

But, on the bright side, I realized that I have what are probably the world’s most faithful readers. And I love you all.

Really truly.

I wouldn’t have been able to shake off the lethargy without you guys.

You know who you are.

Thank you.

So one of the countries I spent a couple of weeks in was Spain.

I fell in love. Honestly. If you’ll buy me a house there, I’ll move in a heartbeat.

There are so many perfectly delicious things in Spain, but I when I visited, it was the peak of summer.

Which was perfect. Because thats when gazpacho’s flowing in the streets.

Well, almost.

Here’s the first recipe I tried. I must say that it worked perfectly!

Now I have no idea whether this recipe is authentic, but trust me when I say it tastes delicious.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Here’s what you’ll need : tomatoes (of course!), some crusty bread, cumin, olive oil, red peppers, cucumber, salt, red wine vinegar, garlic, an onion, salt and pepper.

Now you could either blanch and peel the tomatoes or just chop them up. I like leaving the skin on.. I feel the Gazpacho has a heartier texture that way..

Chop the onions…

And the garlic..

The cucumber (again, I prefer leaving the peel on, but its up to you)

The red pepper..

And the bread. Put the whole lot in the blender along with some salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Don’t forget to add the olive oil and vinegar and some water! I didn’t have any red wine vinegar, so i used the vinegar my Kalamata olives were stored in (its the same thing, only the vinegar’s soaked in the olive-y goodness for ages!), and I think I prefer it to regular red wine vinegar!

And blend away!!!

Until you get this..

I like it best when its not too smooth but without nasty chunky bits in it…

Drizzle some olive oil.

I like adding garnishing it with some thyme.

Tomato and thyme, the colors are pretty and the flavor combination is mindblowing, whats not to love!

Chill for at least 3 hours. (The longer the better really. The flavors really meld together after its been in the refrigerator for a day)

My favorite way to eat this is with some nice crusty bread that’s been crisped up in the oven and slathered with Allioli.

Heaven in a soup bowl.

RECIPE :

Ingredients:

Tomatoes                                        -    5 large

Onion                                               -    1/4 cup

Garlic                                               -    1 clove

Olive oil (extra virgin)                  -    1/4 cup

Cumin powder                               -    1 tsp

Red pepper                                     -    1/3 cup

Cucumber                                       -    1/3 cup

Bread                                               -    1/4 cup

Red wine vinegar                          -     3-4 tbsp

Water                                               -   1 cup water (and then add as necessary)

Salt                                                   – as needed

Black pepper (freshly ground)   – as needed

Roughly chop the tomatoes, onion, garlic, red pepper, cucumber and bread.

Combine all the ingredients in the blender and blend till almost smooth.

Serve chilled drizzled with olive oil and garnished with thyme.