Gazpacho! Spanish soup made with cooled, uncooked tomatoes and vegetables. Aware of it? Enjoy it? Abhor it? I can’t say I’ve always loved gazpacho, but if done well, it can be really tasty.
When gazpacho is at its best, it is incredibly hydrating and flavored with summer ingredients straight from the garden. When gazpacho is at its worst, it resembles thin tomato juice or thick cold salsa, neither of which I particularly appreciate.
I desired a texture that fell in between the two and had a far better flavor. I found the secret to be blending half the ingredients into a creamy oblivion. Add the second half and process until the bits are very small. You’ll have a lovely, thick base with the intrigue of tiny pieces of pepper, cucumber, and tomato.
To raise the flavor a few notches, I used a Vidalia onion. Vidalias are only grown in the 20 recognized counties of South Georgia; they are not grown in Spain. A uniquely mellow, sweet flavor that works well in dishes ranging from onion dip to dessert is produced by the mild winters and low sulphur soil. Dessert, please!
Vidalia onions appeared ideal for gazpacho because they are only available in the spring and summer (from April to August). Other types of raw onion are too strong for gazpacho, which is a raw soup, to let the other tastes come through. This gazpacho is the stuff of fantasies when it’s paired with red, luscious, juicy summer tomatoes.
Ingredients for gazpacho
This dish has a traditional gazpacho flavor. You’ll need the following ingredients to prepare it:
The foundation of this raw soup is ripe red tomato. Because tomatoes are very moist, we don’t need to add any liquid before blending the components. We’ll even save a few fresh tomato seeds (they’re so gorgeous) to use as a garnish for the soup.
Yellow sweet onion: Onions have a sweet and savory flavor. If the onion flavor seems overpowering when the mixture is taken out of the blender, don’t worry. As the soup cools in the refrigerator, it becomes much more tolerable.
- Juicy cucumbers offer yet another fresh flavor layer.
- Red bell pepper: Without crisp, sweet bell pepper, gazpacho would be lacking.
- You are welcome to swap out the red bell pepper with an orange or yellow one.
- Fresh basil: Basil gives this soup an even more delicious, summery flavor.
- You only need one huge clove of garlic.
- Extra-virgin olive oil is the only type that should be used.
- Red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar: A dash of vinegar brings life to this soup.
Top Gazpacho Advice
Remove the bread.
White bread is traditionally incorporated into gazpacho to give it bulk, but I felt that it masked the flavor. Additionally, I didn’t enjoy later filtering the gazpacho through a fine sieve. Olive oil and produce are blended together to create a thick, creamy emulsion that has plenty of body and doesn’t need to be sieved.
As a result, this simple gazpacho recipe is free of gluten and rich in wholesome fiber from the unfiltered vegetables.
blending potential
Blend everything at once if you’re in a hurry or prefer a completely smooth gazpacho (see the recipe notes for details on this shortcut).
My gazpacho is better with some texture. Because of this, the recipe calls for you to blitz some of the ingredients into the soup just quickly rather than mixing them all at once.
You could just barely incorporate the chunky gazpacho into the soup if you like it that way.
The gazpacho must chill.
All excellent gazpachos require a few hours in the fridge. This gives the soup enough time to cold completely and allows the flavors to properly develop.
suggested garnishes
Chop some of the ingredients and set the rest aside to garnish the soup later (see steps 1 and 2). Even though it’s an extra step, the lovely gazpacho you see here is well worth the bother.
I just visited Madrid and was blown away by the cuisine and plating, so I wanted to showcase Spanish gazpacho in all of its splendor.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 ½ pounds ripe red tomatoes (about 4 large or 9 small)
- 1 small Vidalia or sweet yellow onion (½ pound), peeled and cut into rough 1″ chunks
- 1 small cucumber (½ pound), peeled and seeded
- 1 medium red bell pepper, cored and seeded
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves, plus extra for garnish
- 1 large garlic clove, peeled
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
- To prepare your veggies, place your blender bowl, a medium serving bowl, and a small bowl on the counter. Core the tomatoes and cut them into rough 1″ chunks. Reserve about ¼ cup of the juicy tomato seeds and place them in your small bowl (we’ll use them as a garnish later). Add half of the tomato chunks to the blender, and the other half to your serving bowl. Add all of the onion chunks to the blender.
- Cut off about one-fourth of the cucumber. Finely chop that piece and place it in the small bowl. Slice the rest of the cucumber into rough 1″ chunks, and divide them between the blender and the serving bowl. Cut off about one-fourth of the bell pepper, finely chop that piece, and add it to the small bowl. Slice the rest of the bell pepper into rough 1″ chunks and divide them between the blender and the serving bowl.
- To the blender, add the basil, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, salt and about 10 twists of black pepper. Securely fasten the lid and blend, starting on low and increasing to high speed, until the mixture is completely smooth, about 2 minutes.
Also read: Sweet Potato, Kale and Chickpea Soup
- Pour the contents of the serving bowl (the remaining chunks of tomato, cucumber and bell pepper) into the blender. Fasten the lid and blend for just 10 to 20 seconds, until the ingredients are broken up into small pieces. Stop there, or blend a little longer if you prefer smaller pieces.
- Add a small pinch of salt to the small bowl of garnishes, stir, and store it in the fridge. Chill the soup for at least 2 hours, or up to 24 hours.
- Before serving, taste, and add additional salt (I sometimes add another ¼ teaspoon) and/or black pepper if necessary. To serve, divide the soup into small bowls or cups, and top with the reserved cucumber and bell pepper. Top with a few tiny or torn basil leaves and a light sprinkle of pepper. Leftover servings keep well, covered and refrigerated, for 3 to 4 days.