Gazpacho | A Weeknight Staple

As one of our “getting married” presents, we got a gazpacho machine, *cough*, I mean a Vitamix blender.  But seriously, my preschooler calls it our “gazpacho” machine because 90% of the time we take it out, it’s to make gazpacho.  I first thought this was strange but then I then went down a memory hole to high school Spanish class.  There is a blender gazpacho scene in Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown), a 1988 classic film directed by Pedro Almodovar.  I dug up the scene where Pepa drinks gazpacho straight from the blender, her famous gazpacho recipe and realized 2 things:  the first is that gazpacho is a core part of the movie and secondly, our blender gazpacho habit isn’t too far away from hers.

Family Friendly, Weeknight Vegetable Consumption

Gazpacho is often the “vegetable” at weeknight meals in our house, served alongside a less-vegetable-forward pasta.  My preschooler will happily drink 2 cups of soup, requesting the addition of a couple ice cubes to make it feel fancier.  The baby will also happily eat bread or pasta soaked in gazpacho (or plain spoonfuls).  It is such a fuss free way for everyone to eat their vegetables so we make it a lot. Sometimes we will shake things up by adding a peach, some melon or a nectarine but otherwise, this is it.

Sources for more authentic Gazpacho recipes

The recipe I am sharing is not “authentically Andalusian”.  Gazpacho isn’t part of my culinary heritage although it’s one that’s becoming part of my repertoire.  While there is joy to the evolution of food, I also find joy in learning the food stories of communities other than my own. So, I used this blog post as an excuse to discover Spanish food blogs.  I know a little Spanish from high school and with the availability of translation features built into browsers, I feel less restricted to English-language blogs than ever.  Here are some of the recipes and blogs that I came across.

• La Receta de la Felicidad (Spanish) – Sandra Mangas is a cookbook author and based on an initial skim, this recipe seems solid and well-balanced to my palette.  I also adore her writing (especially her ode to nursery school teachers), presenting the soup in an ice bowl and photography.
• El Oso Con Botas (Spanish) – This blog, by Raul, a Madrid-based, Guatemalan-origin has some of the most beautiful photographs of the process of making gazpacho
• My Kitchen In Spain (English) – There’s a lovely collection of blog posts on a month of gazpacho from Janet Mendel, an American-born journalist who’s lived in Spain for many years.
• Simple Vegan Blog (English) – Iosune hosts dual vegan blogs, one in English and one in Spanish.  In addition to her soup, I am excited to try out her vegan paella and pan con tomate.

Print

Gazpacho

Recipe by Preeyanka

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

5

minutes

Cooking timeminutes

Calorieskcal

Here is my “recipe” for gazpacho. Please treat this recipe as a rough guide. When I make this, I don’t normally measure things out but I do taste it as I go along and make adjustments based on the balance. You will need a blender to make this dish and to emulsify the olive oil, vegetable mixture

Ingredients

• 4 medium tomatoes (~400 grams)

• 1/2 bell pepper (I like the flavor of green bell peppers but I like the color of red bell peppers. Use whatever you have)

• 1/2 english cucumber, peeled

• 2 scallions, white and light green parts only (optional)

• 1/3 cup olive oil

• 1 3-in*3-in piece stale white bread, crusts removed

• Salt to taste (start with 1/2 tsp and work your way up – I used 1 tsp)

• Sherry vinegar to taste (start with 1 tsp and work your way up – I used 2 tsp)

• Cold water to thin soup (optional)

• For garnishing – finely chopped vegetables, eggs and croutons (optional)

Directions

• Clean vegetables and cut into pieces small enough for your blender’s blades to grab.
• Blend tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumber, scallions, olive oil and the starting quantity of salt until the mixture is smooth. I usually start on a lower speed to break down the vegetables and then I ratchet the speed up to high for a couple mins to get a really smooth soup.
• Taste. Adjust salt and add sherry vinegar. Add a little water if you want to loosen the texture. Reblend and adjust as needed.
• Chill soup until cold. I usually stick the blender jar into the fridge.
• Once cold, serve gazpacho in either glasses or bowls. Add ice cubes if desired. You can also top with a drizzle of olive oil and optional garnishes if you would like.

Notes

• For a more refined soup, strain the soup after completing step 3 to ensure an exceptionally smooth texture. You can also garnish the soup with small croutons or finely chopped vegetables or boiled egg although we don’t when we make this as part of weeknight meals.