Chill Out With Gazpacho

Gazpachó is a cold Spanish soup originating in the Southern region of Andalucia. 

Andalucia

There’s no one single recipe for this uncooked soup, and it always amazes me how much it varies from one place to another. The classic Gazpachó is pureed mixture of fresh tomatoes, sweet bell peppers, onion, celery, cucumber, breadcrumbs, garlic, olive oil, vinegar and sometimes lemon juice. Gazpachó can be a meal in itself, especially if you add extras like sliced celery, green onions, and green peppers. Garnishes include croutons, melba toast, or diced hard cooked eggs.

There is also white gazpachó or "aj blanco malagueno” made with almonds, bread garlic, vinegar and oil.

Ingredients

4 small cloves of garlic

pinch of salt

pinch of white pepper, ground

300 g tomatoes

40 ml olive oil

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 pc red onion

1 pc green pepper

1 pc cucumber

3 pcs white bread slices

2 brs fresh basil

water, optional

Directions:

On cutting board, lightly sprinkle the garlic with a pinch of salt and smash it into a paste with the side of a cook’s knife. In a large bowl, mix the chopped garlic, tomato (concassé or not), cucumber, pepper, basil, white pepper with the olive oil and vinegar. Then add half ingredients to the blender and pulse.  Add breadcrumbs and stir so that it dissolves into the liquid. Repeat with the remaining ingredients until smooth. Taste to check the seasoning and pour into a soup into a bowl or back in a large bowl. Stir in a bit of water to thin slightly, if necessary. Store in refrigerator for at least 1 hour for the flavors to come together.

Fill shallow bowls with the soup, and garnish with chopped parsley or basil leaf, diced red pepper, croutons and swirl olive oil around and over the soup.

Tips:

• Flavor improves with age—you can store this in the refrigerator and eat it for about a week.

• Use kosher salt to bring out the flavours of the vegetables.

• Try to chop the vegetables so that they’re small but not minced or pulverized, and don’t worry if the sizes aren’t uniform. The pieces should be small enough to chew but big enough to recognize.

• If you prefer a more elegant presentations, emulsify the chilled mixture before serving. Seasoning is a very personal matter. I tend to like my gazpahco pungent and sharp, with lots of garlic and onion flavours lingering on the palate. If you prefer milder soup, reduce the onion, garlic and vinegar quantities by half. If you want a spicier soup add 2 tsp of minced jalepeno peppers.

Gazpacho