Gazpacho

In my previous post I put the recipe for Salmorejo, which a is delicious cold tomato soup with egg and Serrano ham. This time I'm adding a similar recipe, but probably more widely known around the world, called Gazpacho. Gazpacho is another refreshing soup with tomato that is very popular in Spain, specially over the summer. Like Salmorejo, it is also tomato based, but it has more ingredients than just that (I use to call it liquid salad when I'm asked to describe it).

Gazpacho is a very healthy alternative to that repetitive salad over the summer months. As opposed to Salmorejo, this recipe is originally purely vegan and can be made gluten free as well (just change the bread type). It is one of my favourite dishes over the summer (and I have to admit sometimes over the winter as well). And it's also great to make in large quantities to serve at a dinner party or just to keep it in the fridge for a few days. 

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 1 Kg of ripe tomatoes
• 1/2 large cucumber or 1 small cucumber
• 1 green pepper
• 1/2 small onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup of vinegar (sherry vinegar is better if you can find it)
• A pinch of salt and pepper
• 4 slices of bread
• 750 ml cold water
• (optional) Diced pepper, onion and cucumber for garnishing
• (optional) Bread croutons 

Directions:

Peel and quarter the tomatoes. For that, you can follow the instructions in the Salmorejo recipe. Simply, put them in just boiled water for 15 minutes with a small cut and the peel will come off easily.

Roughly, chop all the vegetables, i.e. cucumber, pepper, onion and garlic and add it to a mixing bowl with the tomatoes. Add the olive oil and the vinegar. With a hand mixer or a food processor, blend everything until you get a smooth puree. 

Add the water and the bread and blend everything again. Season with the cumin, salt and pepper until you get the flavour that you like. You can also add more vinegar or olive oil at this stage, like seasoning a salad.

Let it cool in the fridge for a while, and in the meantime prepare the toppings. Chop some pepper, onion and cucumber and, if you don't want to buy croutons, you could toast some bread and dice it. The most common thing in Spain is to serve the Gazpacho in a bowl and put all the toppings next to it (either together as I have done, or each vegetable in a different bowl). That way each person can add whatever they prefer and make it more adapted to their taste.

¡Qué aproveche!

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 6 Serving

Per Serving% Daily Value*

Calories 240

Calories from Fat 157

Total Fat 17.5g27%

Saturated Fat 2.6g13%

Cholesterol 0mg0%

Sodium 94mg4%

Potassium 132mg4%

Carbohydrates 18.3g6%

Dietary Fiber 1.9g8%

Sugars 2.2g

Protein 2.9g

Vitamin A 2% · Vitamin C 29%

Calcium 3% · Iron 3%