Gazpacho
A friend (and reader of this blog . . . thanks!) emailed me a gazpacho recipe last week and it struck me as the perfect dish to bring to a bbq Saturday. Gazpacho comes in many different styles. It originated in Spain as a cold soup made of bread, garlic, olive oil salt and vinegar, but has evolved both within and outside of Spain to commonly contain tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, onions and other ingredients. I ended up reading about 10 gazpacho recipes when contemplating how I'd make it. Strangely, the main ingredient of the original gazpacho—bread—was missing from most of the recipes I reviewed. And the recipes I reviewed generally fell into one of two different camps, puréed or chopped. I decided to make up my own recipe incorporating bread to keep it old school and marrying the puréed approach with the chopped approach. The combination of the bread together with the olive oil, which emulsifies when blended, gives this gazpacho a creamy mouth feel even though it's dairy free. It's delicious. It was a hit at the bbq. I'll definitely be making it again this summer.
All of the vegetables in this gazpacho are in season right now in the Chesapeake region. Because I was bringing this to a bbq, and because I'm overdue on my contribution to a cold soup exchange with a co-worker, I made a very large batch. I'd guestimate that this recipe would serve 16-20, so you may want to cut it in half for a more modest batch size. Also, a parting word of advice regarding seasoning. There seems to be quite a variance in tanginess, spiciness and saltiness among vegetable juices. So taste the juice you're using and adjust the addition of vinegar, salt and additional spice to suit your palate. Cheers!
- 1 loaf of Tuscan bread (Just about any bread would do. Also, feel free to use stale bread. It would work fine. Just soak it in the veggie juice for 20-30 minutes first to soften it up.)
- 1 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 lbs. tomatoes*, roughly chopped
- 4 cloves garlic*, peeled but left whole with brown end removed
- 6 cups spicy vegetable juice (I used RW Knudson Very Veggie Spicy.)
- 1/2 cup sherry vinegar
- 4 small bell peppers*, deseeded and finely diced (I used 2 purple and 2 yellow.)
- 4 small cucumbers*, deseeded and finely diced
- 1/2 medium red onion*, finely diced
- 2 trays ice cubes
- salt and pepper
- Divide the loaf of bread in half. Make croûtons out of half of the loaf by cutting it into 1" cubes, tossing the cubes in 1/4 cup of olive oil, seasoning with salt and pepper, spreading on a baking sheet and baking on 375°F until beginning to brown, about 20 minutes. Then set aside to be used as garnish for the gazpacho.
- Remove the crust from the remaining half-loaf of bread and cut it roughly into 2" cubes. You should have approximately 2 cups of loosely packed bread cubes.
- Combine the non-croûton bread (again, the croûtons are for garnish), the remaining olive oil, tomatoes, garlic, vegetable juice and sherry vinegar in a blender and puree until smooth. You may want to add the vinegar bit by bit, tasting as you go, to make sure the flavor suits you. If you're making the whole recipe, you'll need to do this in two batches, so simply use half of the ingredients in the first batch and then repeat. Season this pureed gazpacho base to taste with salt and pepper.
- In a large bowl, combine the pureed gazpacho base with half of the diced peppers, cucumbers and onion, as well as the two trays of ice cubes. Combine the remaining half of the diced peppers, cucumbers and onion in a separate bowl and reserve to be used as garnish.
- Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Ladle the cold soup into bowls, place a few croûtons in each bowl and garnish with the mixture of diced peppers, cucumbers and onion.
Are you in my brain? I was looking for a good gazpacho recipe this am...this looks fantastic.
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Yes, I'm in your brain. It's hot in here!
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Yes, it certainly was a hit. Thanks for bringing it. One of the other guests is accessing the blog right now for the recipe. Thanks again.
PK
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Thank you for the great party . . . and for the hangover, which I'm totally blaming on you.
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This looks so good! Perfect in fact. Perfect and Lovely. And yes, I am a little nuts... the coolest girls are. Fact.
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No argument from me . . . the coolest girls are definitely nuts. And you're a cool, nutty dreamboat.
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love gazpacho...and the colors on this one are awesome.
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Awesome works! Thank you.
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Oh my, that looks delicious. I think I will make it this week. Thanks for the idea.
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gazpacho was something i learned to make from my mom...so it holds a special place in my heart. this version looks delicious.
it's also one of few foods that becomes a drink when you put vodka in it
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Vodka! You very well be the most brilliant woman I know.
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I really like the idea of mixing the pureed and the chopped approach.
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This looks amazing stop by and see my recipes sometime? I would love to chat about some recipes with you and get your advice! I love the images in your post! It speaks a thosand words!
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As the co-worker who had the privilege of eating this soup, I feel that I have to tell all of you that you need to try this recipe. It was absolutely delicious and perfect for summer!
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You got it right. Field workers in Spain would take the vinegar-soaked bread to eat later in the day as a restorative. It's one of those famous but little remembered ways people clevely turn stale bread into a meal. Gezpacho with stale bread is miles better than the watery stuff most people make now.
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