Try this Gazpacho recipe, or contribute your own.
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 and 1/2 pounds tomatoes roughly chopped
- 1 medium cucumber peeled roughly chopped
- 1 half a roasted red pepper (from a jar of roasted red pe
- 3 slices of bread (roughly 3 ounces) torn into pieces (baguette or sourdough are great, and bread that is a couple days old is ideal)
- pinch crushed red pepper to taste
- sliced avocados
- sour cream or greek yogurt
- crumbled feta cheese
- pan-fried crispy chickpeas with lime (my favorite)
- Carbohydrate 3.75541577179757 g
- Cholesterol 16.6875 mg
- Fat 7.30124442745607 g
- Fiber 0.390821594653761 g
- Protein 3.19763111724123 g
- Saturated Fat 3.27614305808718 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (102g)
- Sodium 792.455671438894 mg
- Sugar 3.36459417714381 g
- Trans Fat 0.325470767091734 g
- Calories 91 calories
Step-by-step
- Combine the tomatoes, cucumber, red pepper, bread, garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar, and crushed red pepper in a blender.
- Blend until nearly smooth.
- Add water if the soup seems thick.
- Taste and add salt and pepper, as desired.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Top with any of the recommendations above or set all of them out so that people can customize their bowl!
Unlike a cooked tomato soup that relies on heat to concentrate sugars, gazpacho depends entirely on raw chemistry and mechanical emulsification. Many attempts fail because cooks treat it like a smoothie rather than a cold emulsion. Stale sourdough or baguette added to the blender does not just bulk up the mixture; starches hydrate and trap olive oil droplets, thickening the liquid without dairy.
Fresh Versus Preserved Components
Jarred roasted red peppers bring concentrated smoke and soft flesh, whereas fresh bell peppers contribute grassy notes and crunch. Swapping the jarred component for raw pepper alters both the hydration level and the acidity. Fresh tomatoes also contain varying water content depending on the cultivar; Roma or plum varieties yield a thicker purée than watery beefsteaks. Balance the acidity with red wine vinegar gradually, chilling the mixture for at least 45 minutes to let the garlic mellow before final seasoning adjustments.
- If the blender motor strains, add ice water one tablespoon at a time to keep the blade spinning without heating the mixture.
- Strain the purée through a fine-mesh sieve if the bread crusts leave stubborn particulate matter.
- Store the soup in a glass container for up to 48 hours; longer storage dulls the brightness of the raw garlic.
