The ultimate liquid refreshment: if you don’t have time to chill it, serve with ice cubes picked up nearer the picnic site. Serves four to six.
100g slightly stale crusty white bread
1kg ripe tomatoes, roughly diced
1 ripe red pepper and 1 green pepper, both deseeded and roughly diced 1 cucumber, peeled and roughly diced 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
150ml extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp sherry vinegar
Diced black olives, mint leaves, shredded serrano ham, to serve Put a Thermos flask in the freezer. Soak the bread in cold water for 10 minutes, or until soft. Mix the tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, garlic and oil in the bowl of a food processor or blender. Squeeze out the bread, tear into chunks, and add to the mix. Blend until smooth, add the vinegar and salt to taste, and stir.
Pass the mixture through a fine sieve, pour into the cold Thermos, and refrigerate. Serve with garnishes of your choice. Photograph: Franck Allais/Guardian
