Gazpacho is a staple part of the Spanish diet, particularly in the south, but is a highly misunderstood dishes in the rest of the world. I have seen websites that include avocados, canned tomato juice and even chicken stock!
There is a ‘philosophy’ to making gazpacho – the ingredients should be natural and fresh. Gazpacho should only include the ripest of vegetables (almost too ripe – gazpacho is traditionally a way of using up an excess of vegetables), so no cutting corners with canned goods!
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 kg ripe plum tomatoes
- Half a large cucumber or one small one, peeled
- Two green peppers, of the long, pointy variety (if you can get hold of them)
- Three cloves of garlic (or to taste – remember this is a garlicky dish!)
- 1/4 l olive oil
- Some slightly stale bread (from your local baker, not factory-produced supermarket stuff – don't the freshness factor!)
- Half a small onion (optional)
- Juice of half a lemon (optional)
- Salt, pepper
- Water (to taste)
- Ice cubes (to serve)
Preparation:
- Blanch the tomatoes, then remove the skin and seeds (use your thumb)
- Chop the tomatoes, peeled cucumber, green pepper, garlic and onion (if using)
- Put all the vegetables (and the bread, if using) with the oil, vinegar, salt and pepper into a blender.
- Blend. When you think it is done, blend some more. It is best to start on a slow setting and speed up as it starts to get broken down.
- Add the water. Blend some more again.
- The gazpacho should be very runny but it should have a strong pinky-orange colour. Add more water, oil or vinegar until you think the balance is right, being careful not to make it too vinegary or too watery. This is all personal taste - not until you've tried the real thing will you know how it should be.
- When it is ready, put in the fridge. The gazpacho needs to be very cold. If you are in a hurry, add ice cubes (but remember that this will dilute the gazpacho even further).
- When dishing out, add more ice cubes. Serve with fresh bread for dunking.
