18 Sep Gazpacho Soup
You’ll be happy to know all is forgiven. Seems I’m not the only one to have forgotten my sister’s birthday. She read my blog post and called to say I had been keeping very good company in my neglect. Turns out one of her best friends and all of her co-workers were scrunched in the Bad Corner with me. The whole gang forgot her birthday. The irony? Robin works for the Alzheimer Society. Nuff said.
Moving onto today’s topic. Soup. Colourful, isn’t it?
The tomatoes and opal basil are from my garden. I’m so darned pleased it’s ridiculous. You’d think I’d given birth or cured cancer. But as I confessed earlier, it was nature, not me, that produced a stellar crop.
After a delicious 150-calorie gazpacho at Pret a Manger during my travels, I decided to make a batch myself. While researching recipes I found an amazing variety of opinions on the appropriate texture for this soup. Some pureed everything until smooth, others simply diced the vegetables and tossed it all in tomato juice. A third camp did a little of each.
So, here’s my recipe. Make it as chunky or smooth as you like. Being a middle child, I took the middle road and pureed only half the ingredients.
How do you like your gazpacho?
PrintGazpacho Soup
Bursting with tomatoes, peppers and herbs, this easy-to-make soup requires no cooking. While authentic gazpacho soup uses dried bread, this gluten-free version foregoes the bread and focuses on the fresh vegetables of summer.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 15 mins
- Yield: 4 to 6 1x
- Category: Soup
- Cuisine: Spanish
Ingredients
Soup
- 2 cups fresh tomatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
- 2 cups English cucumber, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
- 1/2 red pepper, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
- 1/2 yellow pepper, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
- 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped very finely
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1/2 red onion, chopped very finely
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoon red wine
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon sugar or honey
- 4 cups low-sodium tomato juice
- 1/4 tbsp fresh herbs, finely chopped (cilantro OR basil OR dill – or any combination)
- salt and pepper to taste
Garnish
- sour cream (optional)
Instructions
For chunky soup
- In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients, stirring to distribute evenly.
For semi- chunky soup
- Set aside half the tomatoes, half the cucumber and all of the yellow pepper.
- In batches, purée the remaining ingredients in a blender. Pour the purée into a large bowl, then stir the remaining tomatoes, cucumbers and yellow peppers.
For smooth soup
- In batches, purée all the ingredients in a blender (you can use a whole red pepper and omit the yellow for more intensely red soup) until smooth.
All versions
- Once mixed, season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and chill at least 2 hours before serving. Top with a dollop of sour cream, if desired.
Cheryl
Posted at 14:14h, 18 SeptemberFirst of all, what's the lovely herb you've garnished your soup with?
My mother in law makes wonderful gazpacho, but it's only partly because of the soup itself. There's a tradition of garnishes in my husband's family: every time there's gazpacho, my MIL sets out bowls of chopped peanuts, chopped hard-boiled eggs, extra onion, bread crumbs, etc. It's fun to doctor the soup as you like, even though I thought adding egg to my gazpacho was a little weird. Love the peanuts w/ it, though!
Christie's Corner
Posted at 14:19h, 18 SeptemberCheryl, your MIL's approach to gazpacho sounds wonderful. Peanuts? I'd have never thought of it, but why not?
As for the herb — it's basil. I don't know the name of the variety, but it's very tiny and intense. I wonder if it's the reason no bugs attacked my tomatoes?
danamccauley
Posted at 20:09h, 18 SeptemberLooks like a great soup! Have you ever made a gazpacho with bread crumbs in it? It's not my cup of tea but a lot of other people seem to love it that way.
Glad to hear your sister isn't mad at you : )
Christie's Corner
Posted at 09:33h, 19 SeptemberDana, the first time I had gazpacho it was made with bread and I didn't like it. The texture turned me off. I prefer it with the bread on the side — although it's less authentic.
Sophie
Posted at 04:10h, 20 SeptemberYour gazpacho soup looks so tasty!!
Celebrating the end of summer!
pixen
Posted at 16:27h, 20 SeptemberI love gazpacho soup too… first time I tasted it was from a carton box 😀 After years of delays I decided to make it myself before summer's gone!
Christie's Corner
Posted at 17:10h, 20 SeptemberThanks Sophie, and yes, this is an end-of-summer celebration. Warm days, cool nights. My tomato bounty won't last forever. 🙁
Pixen, you had gazpacho from a box? I had no idea they sold uncooked soup that way. Please tell me your homemade version is better!
Hungry Dog
Posted at 20:07h, 20 SeptemberLooks lovely–so colorful! Wish I had a garden to grow such nice tomatoes and herbs… 🙂
Christie's Corner
Posted at 08:42h, 21 SeptemberHungry Dog, it is wonderful to have space to grow my own tomatoes and basil. Until I have to weed it.
My vegetable patch isn't very big and until this year I was growing herbs and cherry tomatoes in pots, so don't let lack of land stop you. If you have a balcony or porch, you might be able to grow a few items yourself next year. Just a thought.
Eldon Braun
Posted at 12:57h, 17 NovemberThe stale dry bread in the traditional recipe is supposed to be dampened with a bit of red wine vinegar and pureed into the soup to slightly thicken it. If you only use s small chunk, you won’t even notice it. In Europe, Alvalle (Tropicana) gazpacho is made in Spain from fresh veggies. It’s flash pasteurized and sold refrigerated in one-litre cartons. It’s equivalent to what you’d be served at a good Spanish restaurant.
Charmian Christie
Posted at 16:09h, 17 NovemberThanks, Eldon. I guess the gazpacho I tried with bread used too much. I’ll try a small chunk next time.