An Ayurvedic gazpacho

Gazpacho is a dish I love very dearly. First of all, because it can be prepared with many different ingredients, depending on the season and on the personal taste. Secondly, because its preparation doesn’t require any cooking: an important rule in the Ayurvedic tradition suggests a daily consumption of non cooked food in order to stimulate gastric activities and other physiological functions. To give strength to such preparations, we suggest a moderate use of spices such as Indian pepper and cumin seeds. A technical recommendation: in order to mix the ingredients, don’t use cutters or blenders as the colour of the gazpacho would lose its liveliness.

Light gazpacho with tomatoes, strawberries and watermelon

INGREDIENTS
1 kg red tomatoes
250 g cherry tomatoes
250 g ripe strawberries
100 g watermelon pulp
40 g fresh raspberries
spicy olive oil
finely chopped lemons zest
aromatic herbs
green pepper corns

METHOD
1) Remove the skin from the two types of tomatoes using a knife (or dipping them into boiling water)* and cut them into 4 slices of the same dimension. Remove the seeds and the tomato water. Put the tomato pulp, the strawberries cut into half and the raspberries into a Bimby processor. Blend at the highest speed for 30 secs and transfer the mixture into a Chinois covered with a linen or cotton cloth. Leave it to strain in the fridge overnight. At this point, you will obtain a lively coloured pulp with a defined taste. Transfer the pulp into a metal bowl and season it with a few drops of spicy oil, some extra virgin olive oil, the lemon zest and a pinch of salt. Keep in the fridge for a few hours before serving.

2) With a small corer, create some spheres of watermelon pulp, season them with a few drops of spicy oil and keep them to a side.

3) Pour the gazpacho on the base of the dish, place the watermelon pulp on top, in a tidy way, then add the aromatic herbs and the green pepper corns.