GAZPACHO (ANDALUSIAN)

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MY TAKE

It looks like another hot summer is on its way, which means that I am thinking about one of my favourite summer foods - cold soup. I am not a fan of hot weather, but the good news is that I lose my appetite for heavy foods. That is where this particular amazing cold soup comes in. A few years back I was lucky enough to spend a short time in the Andalusian region of Spain, where I rediscovered Gazpacho. As a child in England, we used to buy tins of "Lusty's" Gazpacho, which I had always enjoyed but until recently, Gazpacho was rarely on shelves or menus in the UK and North America. On my trip to Andalusia, my favourite refreshing lunch was a bowl, sometimes just a glass, of Gazpacho. Gazpacho is made with fresh tomatoes, which grow abundantly in the region, and was served in virtually every restaurant. Surprisingly the taste cannot be described as "cold tomato soup" as the seasonings bring out quite a unique flavour. It is very easy to make, the ingredients are all very healthy and it can easily be made gluten-free. Gazpacho makes a great summer lunch or starter for a summer meal. There are many ways to make a non-traditional "gazpacho" without using tomatoes. It is possible to make this soup using cucumbers, avocados, beetroot, or zucchini as the main ingredient. Watch out for more cold soup recipes in this journal!

In North America, the best tomatoes to use are heirloom varieties which of course are in season at this time of year. Although a little more costly than other tomatoes, they have the very best flavour. Roma tomatoes can also be used if you can't find any heirlooms. This is a cold soup, which should be served chilled, and preparation does not include any cooking, so there is no hot kitchen to contend with! It should be made at least a couple of hours in advance so that it can be chilled in the refrigerator before serving. Really the only drawback of this recipe is that you will need a piece of equipment to make the soup, namely a blender, food processor, hand held immersion blender (wand) or food mill to make it. Since a lot of recipes especially soups and sauces will need one of these items I would suggest that it is an essential kitchen tool. Immersion blenders are the best value for money and only cost a little more than a hand turned food mill - so I think this would be the best way to go.

HISTORY

The origins of Gazpacho can be traced back to Spain's Roman and Moorish periods when the practice of mixing stale bread with water, garlic olive oil and vinegar to create a nourishing dish was common. In those days a mortar and pestle was used to pound the ingredients! It first developed into a white soup know as Ajo Blanco with the addition of almonds to thicken it. Over the centuries this peasant food evolved, particularly in the Andalusian region with the introduction of tomatoes and peppers in the 16th Century, transforming it to the vibrant and flavourful dish which has become the global menu item we have today.

NOTES

This recipe is very straightforward and there really isn't anything that can go wrong. I admit that peeling, coring and deseeding the tomatoes is a bit fiddly but thats it! I taste the soup whilst blending in order to see if I need to rebalance any of the ingredients. I found that the flavour (especially the kick of the sherry vinegar) really develops more once the soup has been chilled for a couple of hours. You do not have to use a very expensive olive oil but I do advise hunting down some real Spanish sherry vinegar. When serving, it is traditional to add a drizzle of olive oil and some vegetable croutons made from diced cucumber, onion, tomato and green pepper. You can of course add some mini bread croutons when serving if you desire. I usually purchase one of my favourite breads to serve with the soup - it goes well with a brioche style bread like challah. This type of bread is very suitable for the bread addition to the recipe although any bread you have available will suffice. Remember you only need the soft part of the bread for addition to the soup - no crusts. If you want to go gluten free you can actually skip adding the bread - if you are needing the gluten free version and you want the soup to be a little thicker you can add a cup of white butter beans (from a tin) to the mix. The soup will last in the fridge for about five days.

LET'S TALK

Please let me know how you fare with this recipe and if you have any suggestions to improve it? Send me your photos and your comments. I would love to hear about your favourite summer soup recipes!

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GALLERY

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LUNCH AT A STREET CAFE IN GRANADA AJO BLANCO MOUSSE WITH BEETROOT SALAD AT RESTAURANT COMPARTIR, BARCELONA

THE RECIPE - ANDALUSIAN GAZPACHO

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Servings: 6-8 Prep time: 20 min Chill time: 120 min

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INGREDIENTS

1 kg ripe heirloom tomatoes (yellow, orange and red are best

1/2 white onion

1 green sweet pepper

1 piece of cucumber (approx. 7 inches)

1 garlic clove

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp Salt

235 ml virgin olive oil

3 tbs sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar (Spanish is best)

1 piece (one slice) white french bread no crust (for gluten free version bread can be left out). If you require the soup to be thicker add one cup of white butter beans (from tin) to the mix)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Peel and remove the core and seeds of both the tomatoes and cucumber. To remove seeds from cucumber, cut cucumber in half lengthwise and run a teaspoon down the centre. Peel the garlic clove. Peel the onion and chop into 3 to 4 pieces. Rinse the pepper and remove seeds. Tomatoes,  cucumber and peppers should be chopped coarsely into approximately 2  inch pieces.
   

2. Soak the white bread (no crust) in water, remove bread from water and squeeze out excess water. If you require a gluten free recipe, bread can be left out and, only if necessary, soup can be thickened by adding butterbeans.
   

3. Place cut up tomatoes, cucumber, pepper, onion, garlic and squeezed out soaked bread into a food blender or food processor. (A food mill or hand immersion blender can be used). Add remaining ingredients and blend at a high speed until no sign of any solids remain. This should be blended to a creamy consistency if it appears too watery add a little more soaked bread. This recipe will fill a 13 cup food processor - if in doubt blend in two batches. 
   

4. Pour blended soup into a jar or bowl and chill for a minimum of 2 hours before serving.
   

5. Once served into individual bowls drizzle some olive oil on each bowl of soup. Small crouton size cucumber, onion and pepper pieces can be offered to guests as a garnish at the table (basically vegetable croutons).

Always use a good virgin olive oil and certainly hunt out some Spanish red wine/sherry vinegar. It is worth it as this is a key ingredient for flavour.

If peeling the tomatoes is proving difficult you can cut a cross with a sharp knife on the bottom of the tomato - then plunge tomato in boiled water and then into cold water - this will help release the peel.

Soup can be stored in fridge for a week.