Lying relaxed next to the pool, an ice-cold cocktail in your hand, cool music in your ears. Seems like an ideal summer? It will probably remain an ideal we dream of sweating in the office, leading the kids from one appointment to the next or cleaning the apartment again.
But we can at least try to get closer to the ideal. If not a cocktail, how about a cold soup that is at least a little reminiscent of a cocktail? Then we would have solved the problem with lunch as well. And the whole thing is refreshing – especially when there’s no pool nearby.
The classic among cold soups is the Spanish gazpacho. Lots of tomato, some onion and pepper, all cleaned, cooled and raised with many different additions to a healthy meal: finely chopped cucumber, chopped peppers, hard boiled eggs, toast in olive oil, kind goats … It’s incredibly simple, crazy refreshing, insanely healthy and insanely delicious.
Our version gets just a little more spice: with tart celery, a little chilli and sour lemon juice. And rightly so, this is now a bit reminiscent of Bloody Mary, the cocktail. But it is naturally virgin – without alcohol. After lunch we want to go back to the office, play with the kids, drive to the next appointment in the car. And if the one on the chair is at the nearest pool, so much the better.
Gazpacho doesn’t need a lot of ingredients.
(Photo: Maria Holzmüller)
Recipe for gazpacho with celery (4 servings):
- 1 kg of ripe tomatoes
- ½ green pepper
- Sweet onion
- 2-3 sticks of celery
- salt, pepper, herb salt
- 1 pinch of chili powder
- Juice of 2 limes
soup garnishes
- ½ yellow pepper
- ½ green pepper
- 2 boiled eggs
- goats
- ½ cucumber
- White bread in cubes
- Sweet onion
Preparation:
Remove the stem from the tomatoes and clean well with the peppers, onion, celery and spices until you have a homogeneous soup. Add the lime juice and season to taste. Cool the soup in the refrigerator for a few hours. Add a handful of ice cubes to serve.
For the fillings, chop the vegetables finely, roast the white bread in the oven or in a pan with a little olive oil, chop the eggs and arrange everything in small bowls and serve with the gazpacho.
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