Gazpacho is more of a drink than a soup, and it’s best enjoyed in a frosted glass or a chilled tumbler on a hot day when you’re craving something cold and salty but can’t stomach a whole meal.
This recipe comes from the Spanish city of Seville, where gazpacho is a staple, but it’s not like the diluted salsa or grainy vegetable purée you may find in the United States.
Best Gazpacho Recipe
How should one welcome the arrival of summer? In addition to easy drinks and firing up the grill whenever possible, this is what summer is all about for us.
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Ingredients
One quart (or 8-12 serves) (1 liter)
Core and roughly chop 2 pounds (1 kg) of red ripe tomatoes
1 long, light green pepper, such as an Anaheim, or an Italian frying (cubanelle) pepper, peeled, seeded, and roughly chopped
Cucumber: 1, about 8 inches (20 cm) in length, peeled and chopped into large slices
1 small onion, white or red depending on your preference, peeled and sliced into large chunks
One garlic clove
Sherry vinegar, at least 2 tablespoons and more to taste
Salt
Extra-virgin olive oil: about 1/2 cup (125 ml), plus more to taste and for drizzling
Finely chopped peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes as garnish (optional) (optional)
Instructions
Combine tomatoes, pepper, cucumber, onion and garlic in a blender or, if using a hand blender, in a deep bowl.
(If required, work in bunches.) Keep blending at high speed for at least 2 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula, until the mixture is extremely smooth.
While the blender is running, pour in the vinegar and 2 teaspoons of salt. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil.
A vibrant orange or deep pink colour will develop, and the mixture will become silky and emulsified like a salad dressing. If the consistency is still too runny, add extra olive oil a little at a time.
Use a spatula or the back of a ladle to press all the liquid through a strainer or food mill to remove any solids.
Discard the solids. (Or don’t, the solids are excellent on a slice of crusty bread, like a bruschetta.)
Transfer to a big pitcher (ideally glass) and refrigerate until very cold, at least 6 hours or overnight.
Salt and vinegar should be added soon before serving. If soup is excessively thick, mix in a few tablespoons of ice water.
Give each guest their own glass, and provide ice if they like. Some olive oil drizzled on top is a lovely finishing touch.
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Conclusion
The gazpacho is a staple of the genre: pleasant, and full of ripe, summery flavours, Lindsey Bareham’s description of it as ‘a salad soup’ in A Celebration of Soup is exactly dead on.
In essence, it’s an Andalusian peasant cuisine that makes maximum use of limited resources. Early recipes ask just for a mixture of bread, olive oil, garlic and water.
Tomatoes and peppers, imports from the New World, came considerably later to the party..
