Gazpacho
Andalusian Chilled Tomato Soup
Ripe tomatoes, cucumber, green pepper, garlic, bread, olive oil and sherry vinegar, blended, sieved until smooth and served very cold. In Andalusia in summer it is as likely to come in a glass from the fridge as in a bowl. It depends completely on the tomatoes.
The Spanish recipe read is strict about what belongs: tomato, green pepper, cucumber, garlic, bread, oil, vinegar, water and salt. It leaves out red pepper and onion, sieves the soup to remove skins and seeds and recommends chilling it overnight.
The British recipe read marinates the chopped vegetables with the bread and vinegar for two hours before blending, and prefers the soup thick.
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 kg very ripe tomatoes, cored and roughly chopped
- 1 long green pepper (Italian frying type) or 1/2 green bell pepper, deseeded and chopped
- 1 cucumber (about 300 g), peeled and chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
- 50 g day-old white bread, crusts removed, torn
- 80 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 30 ml sherry vinegar (2 tbsp)
- 250 ml cold water
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
Method
- Blend Put the tomatoes, pepper, cucumber, garlic, bread, vinegar, water and salt in a blender and blend for 2 minutes, until completely smooth. With the motor running, pour in the oil in a thin stream; the soup will turn paler and creamy.
- Sieve Pass the soup through a fine sieve into a bowl or jug, pressing with the back of a ladle. This removes the skins and seeds and is what makes the texture smooth.
- Chill and adjust Chill for at least 2 hours, and overnight if you can. Taste when cold: it will need more salt and possibly more vinegar than it seemed to when warm. Thin with a little cold water if it is thicker than single cream. Serve in glasses or bowls with a thread of olive oil.
Make it only when tomatoes are properly ripe. In winter, good tinned tomatoes are better than pale fresh ones, although no source read suggests this.