It’s summertime in Paris and hot, hot, hot! Today was 36˚C / 96˚F with humidity – almost unbearable – unless you’ve got a terrace to BBQ and three chef friends to come over and help you brave the heat!!! Naturally on our day off we got together to cook.

After a quick trip to to the farmers market we decided that gazpacho or cold tomato soup would be perfect for an entrée. How could we resist with a sign like this….

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We started our BBQ meal off with some ice cold gazpacho. Actually we started our BBQ off with some ice cold Coronas and then had gazpacho.

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The soup is simple to make (less than 6 minutes), refreshing, and a beautiful way to begin any hot summertime meal. I’m a purist when in comes to ingredients and only use ripe juicy tomatoes, sherry vinegar, sea salt, and good quality olive oil for the soup. I like it pleasantly salty and tart balanced with the sweetness of tomato.

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We experimented with some fancy wine glasses first, but then decided they were too much hassle for the terrace. First, fill the bowl or glass with a small salad of cucumber, green pepper, and red onion and pour the gazpacho over right before serving. I added a little brochette of shrimp and mussels too. Other additions could include crab or garlic croutons
Recipe to follow…

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Gazpacho

Ingredients
12 medium size ripe tomatoes
1/4 cup good quality olive oil
4 Tablespoons sherry vinegar
3 teaspoons salt (I add more because I like it salty)

Optional Salad
1/2 cucumber diced
1/2 green pepper diced
1/2 red onion diced
1/4 tomato diced

Instructions
1. Quarter tomatoes and throw into a cusinart or blender. Puree the whole tomato until liquified. Strain and reserve the juice and throw away the seeds and skin that didn’t get pulverised.
2. Put tomato juice back in blender and add olive oil, salt, and vinegar. Blend and taste. Add more vinegar and salt to your liking – it should be pleasantly salty and vinegary enough to get your saliva glands going.
3. Chill until ready to serve
4. Dice vegetables for salad and serve in bowl or cup desired. Pour gazpacho over when ready to serve.