My new and improved gazpacho recipe!

Last week the Pick n Pay in my area was having a huge sale on tomatoes. So I didn't have very far to go to decide that I needed to make gazpacho. I had a few new ideas I wanted to try out with my old faithful recipe and I think they worked out really well. 

The changes I made were substituting nuts for the traditional bread base and I added white wine vinegar and basil to the seasoning which I haven't done in the past. The end result has a lovely creamy full bodied texture and taste which I really like. 

Since summer is drawing to a close, I think that enjoying some truly summery dishes is an absolute must! 

Gazpacho

Makes about 3 litres

1 cup of macadamia nuts (or nuts of choice)

½ cup of olive oil

1 litre of veg stock or water (more if needed)

1kg ripe tomatoes

1 cucumber, peeled and seeded

1 red pepper, seeded

1 large clove of garlic

½ a small red onion

2 Tbsp honey, agave nectar or brown sugar

1 tsp of lemon zest, finely grated

1 Tbsp of lemon juice

2 Tbsp of white wine vinegar

1 Tbsp of fresh sweet basil (optional)

fresh chilli (if desired)

¼ tsp of cumin

2 tsp of salt (or to taste)

black pepper to taste

Blend the nuts and oil until they form a fine paste. Add all the other ingredients and blend until you reach the desired consistency. Check the seasoning. Refrigerate and serve chilled.

For a colourful and crunchy finish serve with croutons and some of the ingredients like cucumber and peppers diced up.