It’s no secret that I love gazpacho. Over the years, I’ve shared a gazpacho recipe with watermelon, one with corn, another with carrots, and still another with tangy tomatillos. What can I say? On a hot summer day, there’s no better way to cool off than with cold soup.
If you’re not familiar with gazpacho, it’s a chilled soup that originated in Andalucía, Spain. Traditional recipes call for tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, and bread, which thickens the soup. This recipe isn’t entirely authentic, but it has a lot in common with Spanish gazpacho. Tomatoes, cucumber, and olive oil make up its vibrant red base, garlic adds bite, and red wine vinegar gives it a delicious tang. Even Jack, who normally passes on gazpacho, devoured a bowl for lunch last week. Complex, refreshing, and bursting with summer produce, it’s the perfect thing to make right now, when the days are hot and fresh tomatoes are at their peak.
As I mentioned above, bread is often used as a thickener in Andalusian gazpacho. For my taste, the soup is plenty creamy without it, so I make my gazpacho with these simple ingredients:
Best Gazpacho Recipe Tips
- Good tomatoes are gold. This gazpacho recipe calls for a whole lotta tomatoes: 2 1/2 pounds! They make up the body of the soup, so the quality of your tomatoes will really affect the final dish. If you can, look for local tomatoes at your farmers market. But no matter what, make this recipe in summer, when any tomato is sweeter and juicier than it would be at other times of year.
- Work in batches if necessary. This recipe makes a lot of soup, so you might need to work in batches depending on the size of your blender or food processor. Of course, you could also halve the recipe, but I like having leftovers in the fridge. The soup becomes more complex and flavorful the longer it chills, so it tastes even better on days 2 and 3!
- Chill the soup for at least 2 hours before you eat. It might be tempting to cut the chilling time short, but trust me, the wait is worth it! After the flavors meld and develop in the fridge, the soup becomes more balanced, complex, and refreshing.
You can serve this gazpacho recipe two ways: in a glass or in a bowl. Drink it for a light lunch or appetizer, or load up your bowl with toppings to make it a meal on its own! I like to garnish my bowl with diced cucumber, cherry tomatoes, fresh herbs, and a drizzle of olive oil. Roasted chickpeas, croutons, chopped hard boiled eggs, and avocado would be delicious toppings too.
As you chop, set aside a handful of veggies to the side—youll want them later as a crunchy garnish for each bowl.
Thats right, add some bread. To thicken gazpacho, just add some bread and continue to blend it until its reached the consistency you desire. (You can also save your bread to use as a topping for your soup: Chop up whatever bread you have on hand, fry it in some olive oil with some chopped herbs, salt, and pepper, and youll have the best homemade croutons ever.)Season to taste
If you have time, stow your finished gazpacho in the fridge for a few hours (or up to two days) to get it nice and cold. No time for this? No problem: pour the gazpacho into bowls and put an ice cube right in the middle of each one. (I love the ice cube trick—I especially love the way the soup changes texture throughout the course of eating it as the ice cube melts and dilutes the mixture.)Garnish and serve
Youd think itd get old. It doesnt. How could it? It comes together in a flash, and when you work without a recipe (as these six simple steps will show you how to do), theres an infinite number of variations. In fact, the only thing thats always the same when it comes to gazpacho is that you never need to turn on the oven to make it.Chop some veggies
Thankfully, there are so many gorgeous tomatoes all of the sudden, tomatoes so perfect that I wouldnt cook them even if I wanted to—cooking these beauties would be sacrilege. And so, I make gazpacho for dinner. Or lunch (gazpacho is perfect on a hot August afternoon). Actually, who am I kidding? I make it for both.
How to Make The Best Gazpacho
How do you make homemade gazpacho?
Step One- Make the celery juice (the secret ingredient to elevating your gazpacho). Blend 1 cup celery and 1 cup water, then strain the celery. Save the celery juice. Step Two- Place the gazpacho ingredients in a blender- all except the olive oil and herbs. Cut larger tomatoes into quarters or halves.
How do you make a good gazpacho soup?
Olive oil: Extra-virgin olive oil is always the way to go. Sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar: A small splash of vinegar makes this soup come alive. Traditional gazpacho blends in white bread for body, but I found that it diluted the flavor. I also didn’t enjoy straining the gazpacho through a fine sieve afterward.
How do you eat gazpacho?
Serve gazpacho as a refreshing drink in a mug or glass. Serve gazpacho as a soup in a bowl topped with tomato, avocado, cucumber, herbs, croutons, a drizzle of olive oil or even a swirl of yogurt. Add seafood if you like- prawns, crab, lobster, scallops, etc. Serve as an appetizer in a shot glass or little cup. (see below)
What makes a good gazpacho?
Gazpacho is one of summer’s purest and simplest pleasures. While there are many iterations of gazpacho these days, from almond-based Ajo Blanco to fruity watermelon gazpacho to the classic red tomato version, they all share one thing in common: Great gazpacho is chilled, light, and refreshing.