Spanish photographer Pia Riverola offers a cool appetizer for hot weather––a blend of the senses much like her dreamlike photographs.
Pia Riverola captures evocative moments: neon streets in the rain, tapestries in the wind, sunsoaked scenes at the ocean. The Catalonian photographer traverses different cultures to gather the taste, scent, and individuality of scenes throughout the world, hinged upon a common poetic intimacy and saturated color. Riverola, who lives between Los Angeles and Mexico City, gives Family Style a gazpacho recipe from her grandfather: a scene from her life that could be plucked directly from her photographs. “He would rarely cook but I remember the hot summer days in Costa Brava when he would make this tasty fresh perfect appetizer to drink while the family prepared the rest of the lunch,” Riverola recounts. “I now make it for my family as soon as tomato season is around.”
Ingredients:
- 3 pounds juicy ripe tomatoes
- ½ Figueras onion (or any sweet onion)
- 1 cucumber
- 1 Italian pepper (has to be green)
- 1 garlic (or more if you are fond)
- ¼ loaf of stale bread, preferably a couple days old
- A lot of virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
- Salt
Instructions:
- Peel tomatoes.
- Cut all veggies in quarters and add to a bowl, add garlic, the stale bread, sherry vinegar, a generous amount of olive oil and salt to taste.
- Blend until very thin, strain to remove pulp.
- If you have the time, make your own fried croutons and chop tiny bits of the remaining onion, cucumber, pepper and tomato, add as topping when served.
- Serve cold, preferably on a hot summer day.