Gazpacho

• Get tomatoes, cucumber, garlic, onion and red pepper.

• Also, get olive oil.

• Peel your cucumber and put everything in a blender. Sixty percent tomato, fifteen percent cucumber, ten percent red pepper, five percent onion and the rest, garlic and your own adjustments, herbs and sugar. I only used some dried herbs. Please use fresh. Basil. Oregano. Marjoram. I don't know if this is authentic. But taste it. You will know.

• You may need a little water to get it moving in the blender, but be sparse; there's a lot of water in these veggies.

• Add a few tablespoons of olive oil or more, and a teaspoon or two of sherry vinegar.

• Why does it still not taste great? Because you have not added salt. Do I really need to tell you this?

• Add pepper too. (This really doesn't warrant a bullet point of its own.)

• Serve now, or better, leave it in the fridge overnight, then adjust seasoning.

• I wasn't getting moody earlier, I just have every faith in you.

• Eat with grilled, olive-oiled bread.

 

What did it taste like? GARLIC. Go easy on the stuff. It's potent when it's raw. Apart from that, it was refreshing and juicy.

Tip: Smell your tomatoes. This is not a euphemism. Smell your tomatoes in the place of purchase (if people look at you funny, smile and wink - this is sure to freak them out). You will know if it's a good tomato if it smells of something. Also, use good olive oil and put more on top to serve.