Homemade Gazpacho
Zooming out on a week of our family meals there are always shortcuts, this could be beans on toast, or my children’s favourite fish fingers. In a sea of tradwife content why does this feel important?
Authenticity is always the goal when I’m creating content and there is balance to be achieved with this lofty ambition. The recipes I share need to look beautiful and sound delicious whilst also being achievable. In a static Instagram feed everything can be enticing but also feel a little too perfect. I am mindful that these recipes are pre-planned and are often the highlight meal from a weekend, when I have more time on my hands. With an increasing shift to filmed content (across Instagram stories/ or Instagram Reels) comes the benefit of sharing more honest food, without the need to plan or style it. A liberating new path and one that is closer to the simpler meals we eat and enjoy each day.
If I zoom out on a week of family meals the truth is there are always shortcuts, whether that means beans on toast, my children’s favourite brand of fish fingers, or a lasagne made by my local Italian deli. Upon sharing these canned and frozen delights, I invariably receive an encouraging message from a fellow parent-cook thanking me for being honest. In a sea of tradwife content this suddenly feels increasingly relevant and important for my own sanity. Whilst I too thoroughly enjoy watching the discipline and craft involved in making everything from scratch, it is not something I feel I could replicate in my daily life. Nor, do I want it to make me feel less adequate as a home cook. For me feeding my family well is a balance between home cooked meals and helpful shortcuts.
Now is the time in the kitchen when I lean heavily on beautiful produce, as generally good ingredients require less cooking. Cooking less with more. I have lately become addicted to buying the best quality tomatoes I can lay my hands on. These tomatoes to be more specific are Natoora’s Pink Bull's Heart Tomatoes, which I encourage you to try if you haven’t. They are so spectacular in every way that each and every time I cook with them I feel a sense of occasion; when truthfully the assembly might be a simple Caprese Salad, or Pan con Tomate. Both of which we have endlessly eaten this Summer, partly thanks to the plentiful supply of these princely tomatoes in my kitchen and partly as they take minutes to pull together.
Having sampled the goods I plan to find time to read In Search of the Perfect Peach, By Franco Fubini, published by Chelsea Green Publishing UK. The book explores and promotes Franco and Natoora’s pioneering approach to flavour-led food, in the UK and beyond. I have no doubt I will learn an immense amount from both Franco and his mission to achieve a better quality of food chain and produce.
I cannot talk about these beautiful tomatoes without moving onto this week’s recipe. I have a vivid memory of eating the most beautiful gazpacho on a holiday to Malaga in 2014, just before the birth of my daughter. This is a testament to the Gazpacho as pregnancy hugely impacted my sense of taste and ability to enjoy all number of foods. Heavily pregnant and not coping well in the August heat the emulsion of red tomato juice and vegetables was both soothing and restorative. This gazpacho was served alongside a selection of beautifully prepared toppings (I am including an image for inspiration), I feel this is such a beautiful addition to the experience of eating this soup.
So just as you think to yourself you can’t contemplate the idea of planning meals for the imminent bank holiday weekend let me tempt you with this classic recipe. All the ingredients are simply weighed into a bowl, blended and then chilled. What could be a better no-cook shortcut recipe, made with beautiful ingredients, than this.
Homemade Gazpacho
serves 4-6
1 kg ripened vine tomatoes
50g extra virgin olive oil
40g red white wine vinegar, cheap is best
50g green pepper
40g onion
1 garlic clove, cut in half and remove the inner stalk
200g water
40g bread
All the ingredients for this recipe are weighed directly into the blender, over scales. Blend together the tomatoes, olive oil, vinegar, green pepper, onion, garlic clove: blend for 3 minutes at full speed.
Add the water and bread. Blend for a final 2 minutes on full speed. The end result should be smooth and creamy. Chill for at least 4 hours in the fridge in a china bowl and stir well before serving. You can add more water, if slightly too thick and taste to adjust with a little more red wine vinegar if necessary.
Serve in bowls and finish with olive oil. I like to include some toppings such as finely diced hard boiled egg, cucumber or red pepper.