Gazpacho Two Ways

Gazpacho is a staple around our house in the summer.  I probably make a batch every week or so.  It just goes so well with all sorts of dishes, especially all the summer salads I make.  Gazpacho is a very popular Spanish cold soup.  Traditionally, it only has chopped raw vegetables (as tomato, onion, pepper, and cucumber) in it and is not made from a tomato juice base.  


We have here 2 gazpacho recipes.  There are tons floating around on the internet, and these will just add to the list, but I feel these two are a little set apart.  This first recipe is pretty well strait from Spain itself.  I have a friend whose sister went to Spain to study abroad and the family she lived with used a recipe very similar to this one.  There wasn't a whole lot of exact measurements I got from my friend, but let me tell you -- it may be much simpler than a lot of recipes out there, but it's one of the best gazpachos I've ever had.

Second of all, I'm not a huge fan of the acidic tomato-juice based gazpachos you sometimes get or are instructed to make.  So the second recipe on here is one that I came up with.  I wanted to create a gazpacho that was fresh and easy and not bitter due to the tomato juice or green peppers so it's made without a lot of canned/jarred tomato juice.  It has more ingredients than the first recipe, but it's very versatile.  You can puree it all, or only a portion of it depending on your texture preference.   

We hope you enjoy these.  Please try them both to see which one you like better!

Gazpacho from the Homeland

makes 7.5 cups

• 2 lbs ripe tomatoes
• 1 small red onion, rough chopped
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 green pepper, chopped fine
• 1 cup fine diced cucumber
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup olive oil (depending on how juicy your tomatoes were)
• 1/4 cup good red wine vinegar
• 2 tsp sugar (opt!  taste first)
• salt and pepper to taste

-- Puree tomatoes and transfer to a large bowl.

-- Run the onion and garlic through the food processor until chopped fine and add to bowl.

-- Add everything else, stir, and chill at least 2 hours.

Sarah's Gazpacho

Serves 6 (8 cups total)

Active time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: Chill: 2 hours - overnight

Total time: 20 minutes + chill time

Serving Suggestions:  With a grilled cheese for lunch, with a grain salad or quesadilla for dinner.

• 2 lbs ripe tomatoes, cut into chunks OR 2 15 oz cans crushed tomatoes
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 3 TBLS tomato paste + 3/4 cup water OR ½ cup tomato sauce + ½ cup water OR 1 cup tomato juice
• ¾ cup finely diced red onion
• 2 cups finely diced cucumber
• 1 1/2 cup finely diced bell pepper, any color
• 1 cup finely diced carrots
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1 TBLS sugar
• 3 TBLS olive oil
• 2 TBLS white wine vinegar (for a more muted flavor) OR red wine vinegar (for a fuller tomato flavor)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish
• Salt and pepper to taste

--Puree the tomatoes in a food processor or blender.  Put in a large bowl.
--Add the broth and tomato "juice"
--Combine all the diced vegetables into another bowl and stir.  Take half out and put into the large soup bowl.
--Take the remaining half and puree with 1 TBLS of the olive oil.  Once pureed, add to the large soup bowl as well.
--Add all remaining ingredients to the large soup bowl
--Chill, covered, for at least 2 hours before serving.  This soup is actually best if it's had overnight or even all day to chill.

ALTERNATE NOTE: the texture of gazpacho is a personal preference.  Some like it all pureed, some like all the veggies to be in chunks and only the tomato base to be liquid.  Please fix this however you think you would like it.

Time tip:

1) Use a food processor. 2) Only finely chop half the vegetables.  Keep the other half in larger chunks and puree.  3) If you like a thicker, not-chunky soup, puree everything.

If you like Gazpachos -- here are two others that are already on the blog we enjoy, too.  One and Two.