Summer Is Finally Here!

After weeks and weeks of rain we are finally in Summer's spell

. With that we have to think about our gardens and catering outdoors.Here's a tip for wonderful outdoor recipe:

Chilled Fennel Gazpacho

Skin the tomatoes

Chop the tomatoes roughly, then trim the green fronds from the fennel (reserve these for garnish) and cut the bulb into quarters. Trim away a little of the central stem at the base and slice the fennel into thin slices.

Now place these in a saucepan with the salt and measure 15 fl oz (425 ml) of water. Bring it up to simmering point, then put a lid on and simmer for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, crush the coriander seeds and mixed peppercorns in a pestle and mortar. Then heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the crushed spices, along with the chopped onion. Let these cook gently for 5 minutes, then add the crushed garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes.

Now add the balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, chopped tomatoes and oregano, stir well, then add the fennel, along with the water in which it was simmering. Finally, stir in the tomato pure, bring everything up to simmering point and simmer gently, without a lid, for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to gas mark 5, 375F (190C). First, cut the bread into small cubes, then place them in a bowl, together with the olive oil and paste, and stir them around to get a good coating of both.

Arrange the croutons on a small baking sheet and put them in the oven to bake for 8-10 minutes but pelase put on a timer for this as 10 minutes pass very quickly and croutons have a nasty habit of turning into cinders! Then leave to cool on the baking sheet. Cool the soup a little, then whiz to a puree in a blender (a bowl to put the first batch in is helpful here). When the soup has cooled completely, cover and chill for several hours.

Serve this as an appetizer in a wonderful handmade ceramic soup bowl. And you need to offer a lot of water and what is nicer than a earthenware handmade ceramic water jug or pitcher . Top things off with an espresso served in a hand crafted small coffee cup .

Your guests and your family will enjoy the sunshine and great and light food served in marvelous handmade tableware and will not forget the afternoon in your garden.

by: Ina Dittke

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