Gazpacho is the name of a famous tomato-based cold soup from the Andalucia region of Spain. Andalucia (also spelled Andalusia) is across the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa, and its cuisine is heavily influenced by Moroccan traditions. Tomatoes, of course, are indigenous to America - but who cares!
Serving Ideas
Although traditionally served cold, Gazpacho can be served hot as well. Either way, served with a green salad and some great peasant-style bread, it makes a terrific lunch. It also works well as a first course to almost any meal you can think of. If you want to do a Spanish dinner, start with Gazpacho, make a Paella for the main course and finish with a dessert Flan.
Variations on the Theme
Variations on this recipe are practically infinite. You may want to think about how thick you want the soup to be. Traditionally, Gazpacho is thickened with coarse bread crumbs, but in my opinion, they don't add anything unless you want your soup to be very thick. I do like to use garlic-infused croutons as a garnish.
A Note About Tomatoes
This recipe calls for tomatoes. However, unless you can get very good vine-ripened tomatoes, I recommend using canned tomato juice. You can also use tomato puree, but make sure it is the good stuff. I like the LaValle brand which comes from Italy and is made exclusively from San Marzano tomatoes.
Ingredients:
- 3 lbs Ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced or a large can of tomato juice
- 1/2 green bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
- 1/4 onion, peeled and diced (optional)
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled (more or less depending on taste)
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup Dry Sherry (optional)
- Chicken stock
- Kosher Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Optional Garnishes:
- Diced carrots (good for crunch)
- Diced Cucumber
- Diced Tomatoes
- Cilantro leaves
- Garlic Croutons
- Basil leaves
- Parsley
- Diced green, red or yellow bell pepper
Directions:
- Put all the ingredients except the chicken stock into a food processor or blender and puree. Add enough stock (use water if you are out of stock) to get the consistency you want. Add salt and pepper to taste. Strain the soup to get rid of any solids.
- Pour the soup into bowls or serving glasses and top with garnishes. Some people like to "float" a bit of dry sherry on top of the soup just before serving.
Michael Burwen - 30+ years as a business/market analyst for high-tech industry. Long-time interests are wine/food, woodworking, and consumer electronics.
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