Spanish 'Gazpacho' ( cold tomato soup )

The recipe i'm going to share with you is based on a traditional way in this area i live at ,the south-west of Spain were is very very hot in summer ( 40ºC this days ) . Thanks to meals such this we keep healthy and well hydrated with a good suply of vitamins and nutrients. 

INGREDIENTS (5 people aprox ):

• Green peppers : If they are big  use only 1 , 2 if they are small. Wash and remove seeds.
• Cucumber : 3/4 of one piece if it's big , 1-2 pieces if they are small.Wash and peel.
• Garlic : It depends on how much spicy it is . I normally put 3 cloves.Peel.
• Onion : Also depending on the strength , i normally put a small slice of about 1 cm.Peel.
• Tomatoes : if you have enough time use natural ones , wash and peel  them ( 1,5 kg ). If you lack of time (as me ) the trick is to use the canned ones , 1 can of crushed tomatoes will supply color and taste with all the sanitary and quality guarantees.
• Bread : a small piece of about 70-100grs of past bread ( hard one from 3-4 days ago ) . Don't use sliced one as it's too sweety.
• Olive oil : It must be olive oil , preferable spanish virgin olive oil. Be generous , minimum of 60-100 ml will be needed.
• Vinegar : depending on it's strength you will put more or less...test and error . Better use a bit then add and taste to see how it's going.
• Water : add as much water as needed to get the desired texture. I like it quite liquid so I normally add about 1/2 -3/4 lt .
• Salt: A little spoon will be enough. Any case it's better to be short to add more later if needed or even letting people add it depending on they likes.

METHOD:

Put the ingredients into the mixer. I prefer using that american mixer but you can use others too. Pour the mix into a big bowl like a soup-bowl .

Move the cream using a big wooden spoon or whatever tool you like. Once you get a well mixed cream it's time to add water and vinegar to fit your likes.There are people that prefer thick textures , i like soft textures although sometimes i use thick ones just to remember ancient tastes.

Serve cold. Very cold if it's a hot day.

Special Ingredients:

You can add some character to this meal . In this way there are plenty of possibilities but i will give you mine's .

• Bit of natural oregano . It's not so easy to find but it's affordable. Don't put too much or it will get the whole taste of the serve.
• Spanish red paprika : try and find that named : "Papripka from Jerte" .You can use the spicy version or the sweet one ( preferred by me ). As with the oreganon don't put too much. Experience will give you mastery on this.
• Cut very  small pieces of green pepper,cucumber,tomatoe and add to each serve fitting the likes of individuals.
• You can also add small pieces of Spanish ham and/or boiled egg.

Last comments:

Cooking is not a exact science , use the test and error method to improve results. Don't hesitate trying out your ideas on this meal , you can get delighted with the final results.

If you put too much of some ingredient that it's too much tasty the whole mix will show it . I like the equilibrium , a well balanced finish in wich all elements are important and recongnizable.

As a last tip : this receipt  has it's origin on thouse old farmers that had not mixer or ice or freezer so they mixed the stuff ( wich was grow in their own fields ) in wooden big bowls and crushed using wooden tools. They normally put ingredients into their wells and used fresh water from them. Of course the final texture was not smooth but surely it was quite rough.

Hope you like this receipt and give it a try, you won't be disappointed . But keep and open mind and open taste.

I threaten you to share more spanish famous receipts if you enjoy them.

Sorry for the language or grammar mistakes i made.