Name: Gazpacho with pickled celery and oysters
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 40 gm crustless day-old sourdough bread, torn into small pieces; 1 golden shallot, coarsely chopped; 1 tbsp tarragon vinegar or white wine vinegar; 7 very ripe vine-ripened tomatoes (about 750 gm), coarsely chopped; 1 garlic clove, finely grated; 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil; 1 tsp finely chopped tarragon; 12 shucked oysters, juices strained and reserved; Quick-pickled celery; 2 celery stalks, very thinly sliced, plus pale leaves to serve; 1 tbsp tarragon vinegar or white wine vinegar; 2 tsp caster sugar

Gazpacho with pickled celery and oysters

Gazpacho with pickled celery and oysters recipe - For quick-pickled celery, combine ingredients in a small bowl, season to taste and set aside to pickle until required. Combine bread, shallot, vinegar and 125ml water in a bowl and leave briefly to soften (2-3 minutes). Transfer to a blender, add tomato, garlic, olive oil, tarragon and oyster juice.

Serves 4

Prep

15M

The difference between this gazpacho being good and being exceptional comes down to the quality of the tomatoes. The riper and sweeter the better.

Ingredients

40 gm crustless day-old sourdough bread, torn into small pieces

1 golden shallot, coarsely chopped

1 tbsp tarragon vinegar or white wine vinegar

7 very ripe vine-ripened tomatoes (about 750 gm), coarsely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely grated

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 tsp finely chopped tarragon

12 shucked oysters, juices strained and reserved

Quick-pickled celery

2 celery stalks, very thinly sliced, plus pale leaves to serve

1 tbsp tarragon vinegar or white wine vinegar

2 tsp caster sugar

Method

Main

1.For quick-pickled celery, combine ingredients in a small bowl, season to taste and set aside to pickle until required.

2.Combine bread, shallot, vinegar and 125ml water in a bowl and leave briefly to soften (2-3 minutes). Transfer to a blender, add tomato, garlic, olive oil, tarragon and oyster juice and process until smooth, then season to taste. Divide among chilled bowls and chill for 10 minutes. Serve topped with drained pickled celery, oysters, horseradish, a few drops of Tabasco, micro-herbs and celery leaves.

Maxwell Adey Senior Food Editor & Stylist

Maxwell has always been passionate about food. Born into a restaurateur and award-winning produce farming family, he was strongly steered into pursuing a career in advertising after completing his Bachelor of Public Communication at University of Technology, Sydney. After a very short stint, he decided to enrol in Commercial Cookery at TAFE to follow his true passion. Maxwell started out working in some of Sydney’s finest restaurants (Est., Claude’s and Moon Park) which helped further his love of all things culinary and developed his technical ability to cook. Later, he was lured into the magical world of food publishing where he freelanced for ten years for notable Australian commercial and editorial brands. He has also run his own business where he sells his marinated olives, dressings and sauces at food markets and select retailers. He excitingly joins the Gourmet Traveller team to bring his technical and creative expertise in food to the brand.

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Styling by Emma Knowles