Introduction
Gazpacho is a cold, raw soup of tomatoes, cucumber, pepper, garlic, olive oil and vinegar, blended smooth. On a hot day it is the most refreshing thing you can eat, and it needs no cooking at all. It only works with really ripe tomatoes, so make it in high summer.
It comes from Andalusia, in the south of Spain, where farm workers made it from bread, oil, garlic, vinegar and water long before tomatoes arrived from the Americas. The red version became the standard in the 19th century. It is drunk from a glass as often as eaten from a bowl.
Ingredients
- 1 kg very ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
- ½ cucumber, peeled and chopped
- 1 green pepper, seeds removed, chopped
- ¼ small onion
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 slice of stale white bread, crust removed, soaked in water and squeezed
- 80 ml olive oil
- 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- to serve: small cubes of cucumber, pepper and toasted bread
Tools
- A blender
- A sieve (optional, for a very smooth soup)
Preparation
- Put the tomatoes, cucumber, pepper, onion, garlic and bread in the blender with the salt and vinegar.
- Blend for 2 minutes, until very smooth. With the motor running, pour in the olive oil slowly; the soup turns paler and creamy.
- For a silky texture, press it through the sieve.
- Taste: add salt, vinegar or a little cold water if it is too thick.
- Chill for at least 2 hours. Serve very cold, with the chopped vegetables and bread on top.