Andalusian Gazpacho

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• ½ green pepper
• ½ red pepper
• 6 tomatoes
• 1 slice of rustic bread
• ¼ cucumber
• ¼ teaspoon saffron powder
• 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• 8 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt, pepper

Instructions:

Put the bread in the food processor and reduce it to crumbs; add the olive oil and the vinegar. Process until smooth. Scorch the skins of the peppers either in a gas flame or with a blow torch (or under a hot grill). Put aside to cool.

Plunge the tomatoes into boiling water for 1 minute, then skin them; add to the mixture in the food processor. Peel and coarsely chop the cucumber, then add to the food processor with the saffron and blend. Remove the charred skins from the peppers with a brush or scourer under running water. Dice them and add 2/3 to the mixture in the processor, putting the remainder aside as a garnish.

Process for approx 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve very cold, garnished with the pepper dice.

N.B. you can bake the peppers in a hot oven if you prefer the peppers to be cooked. You can add passata as well as or instead of fresh tomatoes if good ripe tomatoes are not available.