mai serrallach’s gazpacho with sweet, ripe tomatoes

This recipe is dedicated to the memory of Dervila Serrallach Giblin, to her husband Cesc and their family. Dervila, who died far too young, was a great friend to Avoca and is hugely missed in Dublin, Barcelona and beyond. This is her mother-in-law’s fantastic recipe for gazpacho.

INGREDIENTS

serves 4-6

2kg* large ripe tomatoes

1 slice stale artisan white bread

150ml good quality extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

For the garnish

1 red onion/2 shallots

3tbsp white wine vinegar**

croutons

1 red pepper

1 cucumber

sprig of mint

Gazpacho is best served for lunch on a hot summer’s day. Make it in high season with ripe or slightly over-ripe tomatoes that are a deep red and heavy with flavour. Small greeny orange tomatoes won’t work. Use 1/2-2 large tomatoes per person. Choose a good quality extra virgin olive oil.

To make

Cut the bread into cubes and gently soak. Skin the tomatoes*** and discard the skins.

Place the flesh of the tomatoes in a food processor and blitz. Add plenty of sea salt, freshly ground black peppery, soaked bread and garlic and blitz again. Transfer into a bowl and add the olive oil in a slow trickle, whisking all the time. Chill in the fridge for a few hours.

To make the garnish

Chop the red onion or shallots very finely and marinate in white wine vinegar for as long as possible. Dice the red pepper. Peel and dice the cucumber. Fry or grill the croutons until they are golden.****

To serve

Serve cold and place all or as many of the garnishes as you are using on top of the soup before serving. A sprig of mint will give aroma, taste and colour.

KEY TO SUCCESS

A purist would suggest grating the tomatoes with an old-fashioned cheese grater, pushing the flesh through and discarding the skins.

* 2kg = roughly 4.5lb

** It’s my understanding that grape wine vinegar is one of those items that might not be vegan-friendly; I’ve used rice wine vinegar in this recipe before, and it was just fine. Feel free to use whichever one works for you.

***  Here are instructions on how to quickly peel a tomato.

**** The photo is of last night’s leftovers, and because I had run out of pan-fried croutons, I crumbled some Mary’s Gone Crackers in the bowl for a toasty crunch.

Recipe copied from “A Year at Avoca: A Cookbook”

Published in Ireland in 2010 by Gloss Publications Ltd

Text © Avoca

Photograph is my own

herby, peanutty, noodly salad

A bright and zingy dressing, handfuls of herbs and crunchy peanuts pack loads of flavour into simple, easy-to-cook noodles. If you can only find salted peanuts, rinse the salt off and pat them dry. When it comes to fresh herbs, the mint’s pretty much a must: the other two are desirable but optional.

SERVES 4

75g* raw or roasted unsalted peanuts

200g fine egg noodles or Thai rice noodles

150g French [green] beans or mangetout**, or a combination

1/2 cucumber***

6 spring onions, trimmed

About 12 basil leaves (ideally Thai), roughly torn

A small bunch of mint, roughly chopped

A small bunch of coriander, roughly chopped (optional)

FOR THE DRESSING

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

Grated zest of 1 lime, or 1/2 lemon

1/2-1 small red chilli, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 teaspoon soft brown sugar

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon soy sauce, plus extra to serve

If using raw peanuts, roast on a tray in the oven (at 180°C****/Gas Mark 4) for 8-10 minutes, until golden brown. Leave to cool, then bash lightly to break them up a bit.

For the dressing, whisk all the ingredients together in a large bowl.

Cook the noodles according to the instructions on the packet. Drain and rinse under the cold tap. Add to the dressing and toss until well coated. Leave to cool completely in the dressing.

Cook the beans and/or mangetout in a pan of lightly salted boiling water till just tender and still a bit crunchy, 3-5 minutes for beans, 2-3 minutes for mangetout. Drain, refresh in cold water and drain well.

Halve the cucumber lengthways and slice thinly. Finely cut the spring onions on the diagonal.

Toss the cold noodles with the peanuts, cucumber, spring onions, beans and/or mangetout and herbs. Serve with soy sauce on the side, for everyone to help themselves.

* Here’s a gram converter for equivalent in cups.

** mangetout = sugar snap pea or snow pea

** I recommend an English cucumber, but another kind will work

**** 180°C = 350°F

Recipe copied from “River Cottage Veg Every Day!”

First published in Great Britain 2011 by Bloomsbury Publishing

Text © 2011 by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

Photography © 2011 by Simon Wheeler