Gaspacho Provençal au Pistou

This is not the Spanish original but a distinct Provençal cousin — a silkier, herbal cold tomato soup enriched at the last moment with a swirl of pistou, the basil-garlic paste that defines southern French summer cooking.

Serves: 4

Ingredients

For the soup

• 1 kg (2.2 lb) very ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 1 red capsicum (bell pepper), seeded and roughly chopped
• 1 Lebanese cucumber (200g/7 oz), peeled and chopped
• 1 small shallot, peeled
• 2 tbsp (30ml) red wine vinegar
• 3 tbsp (45ml) extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp (5g) fine sea salt
• ½ tsp (2g) sugar (optional, to balance acidity)
• Ice cubes for blending

For the pistou

• 30g (1 oz) fresh basil leaves
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 50ml (3½ tbsp) extra-virgin olive oil
• Pinch of fleur de sel

Instructions

1. Combine all soup ingredients except ice in a blender. Blend at high speed for 90 seconds until very smooth. Add 4–5 ice cubes and blend again briefly — this chills the soup instantly.
2. Pass through a fine-mesh sieve for a silkier result, pressing well. Discard solids. Chill for at least 30 minutes (up to overnight).
3. For the pistou, pound basil and garlic in a mortar with fleur de sel until a rough paste forms. Drizzle in olive oil, stirring to combine — do not over-emulsify, you want a textured drizzle.
4. Serve soup in chilled bowls. Finish each with a swirl of pistou and optionally a few torn basil leaves and a drizzle of olive oil.

Cook's Notes: The quality of tomatoes makes or breaks this dish — use the ripest summer tomatoes available. San Marzano or heirloom varieties are ideal. Pistou differs from Italian pesto in that it contains no pine nuts and no cheese, keeping the basil flavour pure.