A Taste of Spain… Andalusian Gazpacho

Maybe I shouldn’t post two soup recipes in a row, but I just can’t help myself… I love soup! Last week I shared a Chilled Summer Squash Yogurt Dill Soup recipe and this week I’m chillin’ again, this time with Andalusian Gazpacho.

Living in New York City in the early 90’s, one of my favorite summer lunches… as in I had it several times a week…was Gazpacho. How could you not love a tomato-based soup with chunky pieces of cucumber and pepper? It was so refreshing and cool and at the height of summer helped conquer the heat of the city. It wasn’t until I visited Spain with my friend and roommate Katie that I first tried Andalusian Gazpacho. It was a completely different Gazpacho than what I had ever had before and I fell in love with it.

What was different? It was the slightly grainy, yet creamy texture, the tang of sherry vinegar and the not strong but still present garlic. It was zesty and refreshing and addicting and so much better than what I was used to.

After doing a little research, what I came to discover was the texture I loved so much in the Andalusian Gazpacho I had in Spain came from olive oil and… bread!

I’ve tried several recipes, but one of my favorites is from Lynne Rossetto Kasper’s The Splendid Table  and this is a slightly modified version of hers.

I’m not going to lie… it’s not a quick and easy recipe. Not that it’s complicated really. It just takes some chopping, some blending, and some straining. It’s well worth it though.

Ready?

Makes approximately 8 cups

Ingredients:

4 slices of Italian country loaf (best if a day or two old, so it’s dried out a bit)

3 pounds of ripe tomatoes (roma or vine ripened)

2 cucumbers

1 red pepper

1 green pepper

1/4 medium red onion

3 cloves of garlic

¼ tsp of cumin seeds

sea salt or kosher salt

½ cup of Spanish extra virgin olive oil

3 Tbsp of aged sherry vinegar

Chives for garnish

Remove crust from the slices of bread. Crumble the bread into a bowl. Slice tomatoes in half or quarter and collect seeds with juice in the bowl with the bread. Add a tablespoon of sherry vinegar. Mulch it all together with your hands and let rest while you dice your vegetables, starting with the tomatoes.

Peel and dice cucumbers, leaving seeds in.

Remove core and seeds of both red and green pepper and dice.

Peel the red onion and dice ¼ of it saving remaining for another use.

Place all vegetables into a large bowl and toss together with about 3/4 teaspoon of salt and let rest while juices form about 15 minutes.

Toast cumin seeds on medium low heat until fragrant

Peel garlic and smash removing the bitter green center.

Place garlic, toasted cumin seeds, and ½ teaspoon of salt in mortar and pestle and smash into a paste.

Place the tomato and vinegar soaked bread into a food processor and add the garlic paste. Pureé until smooth.

Add one third of the vegetables and 1/3 of the extra virgin olive oil into the food processor with the bread garlic mixture still in the bowl and purée until smooth.

Place a strainer over an eight cup measuring cup and strain the mixture using the back of a wooden spoon to press the mixture through the strainer. Discard solids. Process the remaining vegetables and extra virgin olive oil in two batches and strain.

Once all three batches are processed and strained, pass through a fine sieve the second time, using the back of a wooden spoon to press through and once again discard the solids. While you can use a fine sieve the first time and strain only once, I think it’s easier to use a regular strainer first to get the larger chunks and then remove what’s left with the finer sieve.

Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of aged sherry vinegar and chill for at least 3 hours before serving. Garnish with a drizzle of the Spanish extra virgin olive oil and chopped chives.

This makes a refreshing light meal when served with a few crostini topped with fig spread, Manchego cheese and Serrano ham or as pictured here with duck prosciutto… because that’s what I had on hand.

Or for a fun party idea, serve Gazpacho Soup Shots in chilled shot glasses with vodka floaters. Cheers!

Dana Wilde grew up playing “sous chef” for her father as he churned out one amazing meal after the next for family and friends. She inherited her father’s life long passion for cooking and has spent the past two decades studying, reading, practicing, experimenting, and creating in the kitchen. Together, she and her sister, Shan are Simply Wilde, a small boutique catering business focusing on in-home entertaining.