MY SPANISH GRANDMOTHER’S GAZPACHO RECIPE
Hi there! If you’ve been following along here lately you’re aware of the fact that in 4 weeks we will be hosting our son’s wedding here at our home in Lake Arrowhead, California. Because the bride and groom are busy professionals living in Chicago, I have been charged with the wedding planning. So, what has this got to do with My Spanish Grandmother’s Gazpacho Recipe? Well, it was decided that the menu for the wedding would be an expression of our combined family ethnic heritages, which are Spanish, Italian, Scandinavian and American. So, we designed the wedding menu to represent traditional foods from each of those countries. And, our first course will be my Spanish Grandmother’s Gazpacho Recipe.
The caterer is coming over today for our final meeting before the big day and wanted my Gazpacho recipe. It’s one I’ve been meaning to publish here for a long time so I got busy making it to share with both the Caterer and you! So, let’s get busy making it. Here’s what you’ll need…
For the Soup…
- 2 Slices White Sourdough Bread
- 1 Large Red Bell Pepper, Seeded & White Pith Removed, Sliced
- 2 1/4 Lbs Ripe Tomatoes on the Vine, Cut in Quarters
- 3 Large Fresh Garlic Cloves, Minced or Pressed
- 1/3 Cup Good Quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 T Sherry Wine Vinegar, Preferably from Spain
- Kosher Salt & Freshly Ground Pepper To Taste
The preparation…
Place the 2 slices of white sourdough bread under the broiler and turning once, dry the bread without toasting or browning it. Remove from the broiler and break the bread into chucks and set aside.
Place the sliced red bell pepper in a Vitamix Blender or Food Processor. I prefer the Vitamix or powerful blender, as it will produce a smoother Gazpacho. Blend peppers on high until smooth.
The quality of your Gazpacho will depend heavily on the quality of tomatoes you use. If you have heirloom tomatoes growing in your garden this would be the perfect use for them. This soup is served cold and is a delightful, refreshing recipe to prepare during the summer when tomatoes are at their best.
Wash the tomatoes and remove the white part of the tomato at the stem end. You don’t want stems in your soup! It drives me crazy when people serve tomatoes in any fashion without taking the time to do this.
Then slice the tomatoes in quarters.
Next, press the garlic through a press or mince it finely. I have found that even when using a high powered Vitamix, garlic cloves often don’t get blended well, thus press the garlic first.
Now, add the tomatoes & garlic to the blender along with the previously blended red bell pepper. Pour in the olive oil, sherry vinegar, and the bread, and blend on high until you achieve a creamy, smooth consistency.
Now some recipes for Gazpacho will tell you to remove the skin from the tomatoes. I don’t agree with this for 2 reasons: #1 the skin is chock full of important vitamins and lots of great food value and #2, the next step is to strain the Gazpacho through a fine sieve to extract any remaining skin and seeds. Use a large spoon to press the soup through the sieve into a glass bowl below. You may have to do this in stages. Then discard the pulp & seeds that remain in the sieve. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Pour the soup into a covered, non-reactive container like a large glass jar and refrigerate for at least an hour or up to one day. The longer it chills the better the flavors develop.
Now, lets get started preparing the garnishes. In Spain they always serve gazpacho with garnishes on the side. I had some delicious Gazpacho when I dined like Gwyneth Paltrow at a fantastic restaurant in Granada, Spain. You can read about here.
My Gazpacho In Granada, Spain
One can also get creative with the garnishes and use things like chopped hardboiled egg, diced green onions, rustic croutons or even diced Jamón Serrano. Think about garnishing with items that have contrasting colors to the soup as well. But when I prepare my Spanish Grandmother’s Gazpacho recipe I keep it simple.
For the Garnishes
- 1/2 Green or Yellow Bell Pepper, Seeded & White Pith Removed, Finely Diced
- 1/3 Cup Finely Diced Cucumber, Seeded
- 1/3 Cup Finely Diced Red Onion
The Garnish Preparation
I’m a stickler for proper texture in food and in the case of garnishes for Gazpacho it’s important to prep them to achieve just the right texture. That means they need to be finely diced, almost minced, so that when you take a bite of soup it’s not overpowered by a big chunk of onion or a cucumber seed. So, to prepare the cucumber first peel off about 1/2 of the skin. Slice the cucumber down the middle and use a mellon baller to scoop out the seeds. Then dice it finely.
Finely dice the red onion and green bell peppers.
Pour the chilled soup into individual serving bowls and organize the garnishes on a small plate. Serve cold and ENJOY!
Here’s the handy-dandy printable recipe…
- For the Soup
- 2 Slices White Sourdough Bread
- 1 Large Red Bell Pepper, Seeded & White Pith Removed, Sliced
- 2¼ Lbs Ripe Tomatoes on the Vine, Cut in Quarters
- 3 Large Fresh Garlic Cloves, Minced or Pressed
- ⅓ Cup Good Quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 T Sherry Wine Vinegar
- Kosher Salt & Freshly Ground Pepper To Taste
- For the Garnishes
- ½ Green or Yellow Bell Pepper, Seeded & White Pith Removed, Finely Diced
- ⅓ Cup Finely Diced Cucumber, Seeded
- ⅓ Cup Finely Diced Red Onion
- To Prepare the Soup
- Place the 2 slices of white sourdough bread under the broiler and turning once, dry the bread without toasting or browning it.
- Remove from the broiler, break into chucks and set aside.
- Place the sliced red bell peppers in a Vitamix Blender or Food Processor.
- Blend peppers on high until smooth.
- Press the garlic through a press or mince it finely.
- Add the tomatoes & garlic to the blender along with the previously blended red bell pepper.
- Pour in the olive oil, sherry vinegar, and the bread.
- Blend on high until you achieve a creamy, smooth consistency.
- Strain the Gazpacho through a fine sieve to extract any remaining skin and seeds.
- Use a large spoon to press the soup through the sieve into a glass bowl below.
- Discard the pulp & seeds that remain in the sieve.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Pour the soup into a covered, non-reactive container like a large glass jar and refrigerate for at least an hour or up to one day. The longer it chills the better the flavors develop.
- The Garnish Preparation
- To prepare the cucumber first peel off about ½ of the skin.
- Slice the cucumber down the middle and use a mellon baller to scoop out the seeds. Then dice it finely.
- Finely dice the red onion and green bell peppers.
- Pour the chilled soup into individual serving bowls and organize the garnishes on a small plate.
- This recipe makes approximately 8, 4 oz. servings.
- Serve cold and ENJOY!
So there you have it: MY SPANISH GRANDMOTHER’S GAZPACHO RECIPE
Thanks so much for dropping in!
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