Chilled gazpacho is wonderfully refreshing, perfect for those days when it is too hot to cook in the kitchen.
This gazpacho is a wonderfully refreshing summer soup, based on the classic version from the Andalusian region in Spain.
Although throughout Spain there are many regional variations of gazpacho, the most popular remains this traditional red gazpacho.
It is traditionally prepared by blending together fresh seasonal ingredients such as tomatoes, bell peppers and cucumbers which have the best flavour at this time of year.
The result is a beautiful dish, awakening the senses with its stunning colour, delicious aroma, and layers of flavour which give a bit of a kick.
We love this easy gazpacho recipe as it is so quick and easy to put together for a starter or light meal on warm summer days. As there is no cooking required you can avoid having to spend much time in a hot kitchen.
This is a simple and quick blended soup which comes together in a few minutes, although it is best prepared several hours in advance as the flavours develop over time.
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About the ingredients
Good quality ripe ingredients are essential for a good gazpacho. You will need:
- Tomatoes - they make the base of the soup, any fresh sweet juicy tomatoes will do.
- Peppers - use red or a mix of green and red bell peppers.
- Cucumber - either an English cucumber or baby cucumbers as they have the smallest seeds.
- Onion - This is entirely optional as some find the flavour of raw onion a little strong after the soup has chilled in the fridge for a few hours. You could either use red onions as they are sweeter and milder than white or just leave them out.
- Garlic - 1 large or 2 small cloves
- Olive oil - select a good quality olive oil
- Vinegar - use a good sherry vinegar, if you don't have any, a wine vinegar will do.
- Salt & pepper - adjust according to taste
- Bread - add a small piece of bread for creaminess, texture and to balance any sharpness and acidity. Leave the bread out for a gluten-free diet.
To prepare
- This gazpacho is made by blending together raw tomatoes and vegetables with olive oil to create an emulsion.
- Simply place all soup ingredients in a blender and blend to the desired consistency. Some like to leave the soup a little chunky in which case scoop out a few spoonfuls of the chunky vegetables then re-add them after blending the bread (next step).
- Add the soaked bread without squeezing away the water and blend again. Now add the chunky pieces of vegetables back into the mixture if you scooped them out in the previous step.
- Transfer to a container, cover and chill for a minimum of 2 hours to allow the flavours to come together.
- Garnish with toppings of your choice and serve with slices of crusty bread.
Variations
With so many variations on the traditional Gazpacho soup, many ingredients which can be changed around. Some add soaked bread and ground cumin, while there are other versions which include meat or seafood.
Spicy - add some red chilli flakes or chopped jalapeño before blending.
Sweet - modern gazpacho recipes use fruit such as strawberries or watermelon for a sweeter version.
Make semi-frozen gazpacho
Why not also try it semi frozen? Semi-freeze the gazpacho to serve in small bowls as a delicious palate cleanser.
Serving
Garnish with diced tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, freshly ground black pepper and some chopped fresh parsley.
Serve chilled, in a bowl or glass along with pieces of crusty bread.
Storing leftovers
Gazpacho will keep in a closed container the fridge for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw before serving.
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Recipe
Gazpacho Soup
Ingredients
Gazpacho soup
- olive oil - ¼ cup, extra virgin 60 mls
- ripe tomatoes - (2 lbs), chopped roughly 1 kg
- red bell pepper - cored and deseeded ½
- green bell pepper - cored and deseeded ½
- English cucumber - peeled and cut roughly 1 medium
- red onion - chopped roughly (optional*) 1 small
- garlic - or 2 small cloves 1 large clove
- sherry vinegar - or wine vinegar 2 tablespoons
- salt - adjust according to taste 1 teaspoon
- black pepper - freshly crushed, to taste ⅛ teaspoon
- slice stale bread - good quality bread 1
- water - ¼ cup, cold water, for soaking 100 mls
Garnish
- English cucumber - diced small ½
Instructions
- Place 1 slice stale bread in a medium bowl and leave to soak in 100 mls water.
- Add 1 kg ripe tomatoes, ½ red bell pepper, ½ green bell pepper, 1 medium English cucumber, 1 small red onion(optional) 1 large clove garlic, 2 tablespoons sherry vinegarand 60 mls olive oil to a blender then blend to desired consistency. If you like a chunky soup scoop out a couple of spoonfuls of chunky vegetables and set aside in a small bowl, then add them back in after blending in the bread (the next step).
- Add 1 slice stale breadhe soaked bread without squeezing away the water and blend the soup again till smooth. Now add back any vegetables from the previous step.
- Taste and season with 1 teaspoon salt and ⅛ teaspoon black pepper.
- Chill for 2-3 hours then garnish with ½ English cucumber (diced). Serve cold.
Notes
Only you will see your notes and you can edit them anytime.
Nutrition
Nutritional information calculated automatically per serving, accuracy cannot be guaranteed.
Erica says
I never think of soup in the summer, but this sounds perfect. Thanks for sharing!
Nicole Shroff says
Thanks Erica, I'm glad you like it.
Dr Shivani Gupta says
I am a doctor and prefer doing detox by various smoothies,but now thanx to "end of the fork " which introduce this simply summer soup i.e. gazpacho to me. It is really worth healthy. Thank you
Nicole Shroff says
Thank you Shivani