Gazpacho

[stellabella]

August is gazpacho month [unofficially], and last night I made the first batch from our backyard 'maters. I never follow a recipe but I follow certain basic steps. I would REALLY love to hear how others make it--I keep thinking my gazpacho can be improved/adapted in some way.

Mine is chopped fresh tomatoes [i should add I NEVER make gazpacho any other time of year], sweet & hot peppers, sweet onion and seeded cukes added to tomato juice, preferably pure organic juice--the very best being left over after I can, but I am not canning this summer so I am buying it.

I add coarse salt and chopped fresh herbs-- ususually basil, thyme, oregano. If I HAVE cilantro I use ONLY cilantro. Splashes of sauces from the fridge: Tait Farm spicy cherry chipotle marinade, Worcestershire, homemade BBQ sauce, and any bottle of hot sauce--usually several. A splash of EVOO and a dash of vinegar or fresh lime/lemon juice.

The crown--handfuls of chopped freshly roasted assorted peppers: sweet bananas & anaheims, cayenne and this summer's mystery pepper, looks like a mirasol but hot as a habanero. I always turn up the heat.

I eat it as is but offer guests sour cream or, if I have it, guacamole.

A vitamin pill in a bowl, and mighty tasty, too.

[Varmint]

Mine is very similar to yours, but the heat is turned down somewhat. I also add lime juice. The critical element to me is that the soup be chunky, with lots of crunch to it. I consider it to be primarily a salad with lots of liquid. I despise it when it gets pureed.

[stellabella]

I despise it when it gets pureed.

Me, too! Thanks for adding that! I used always to chop by hand but now I lazily use a food processor--nonetheless texture is still good.

[SobaAddict70]

True gazpacho (the Andalusian version) does not have chiles of any sort and is made in an earthenware or clay bowl. Think of it as a liquid salad. This is how I prefer to make mine. Another gazpacho you might try is gazpacho blanco ("white gazpacho"), which contains among other things -- blanched almonds, white grapes, cucumbers and garlic.

True gazpacho has:

tomatoes, cucumbers, red wine vinegar, Spanish EVOO, salt, pepper, bread, onion, garlic, bell peppers. The soup should be partially crunchy solid but most of it is liquid.

SA

[Varmint]

I think there was a feature on gazpacho in the August edition of Gourmet. I'm not sure if it's online.

[oraklet]

soba,

i think you're right about the andalucia gazpacho. and chili is not needed, as the raw onion and garlic will give it lots of bite. just made it a week ago, during our heat wave. delicious with my (brag, brag) homemade bread.

"it is verry estrrong, with lots of garrlic"

[helen jackson]

I love gazpacho with a good splash of sherry vinegar and I too leave out the chilli.

For an extra touch I have also finished it with a couple of large prawns on the top of each serving.

Gazpacho blanco is seriously good.......

[deirdre]

Sherry vinegar is great in Gazpacho -- it's become one of my favorite ingredients (good in succotash too).

I've been using the recipe from the Jul/Aug 2001 Cooks Illustrated -- tomatoes, red bell pepper, cukes, sweet onion, garlic, sherry vinegar, tomato juice, and hot pepper sauce. It's great for picnic thermoses.

Deirdre

[FoodMan]

Sherry vinegar is great in Gazpacho -- it's become one of my favorite ingredients (good in succotash too).

I've been using the recipe from the Jul/Aug 2001 Cooks Illustrated -- tomatoes, red bell pepper, cukes, sweet onion, garlic, sherry vinegar, tomato juice, and hot pepper sauce.  It's great for picnic thermoses.

Deirdre

This might seem like astupid question, but what are Cukes??

Thanks

FM

[deirdre]

[This might seem like astupid question, but what are Cukes??]

Sorry, that means cucumbers - that's my shorthand.

[FoodMan]

Of course. Cucumbers = Cukes. Thanks for clarifying it. I thought they were some kind of weird vegetable in the squash family.

[Brad S]

I make a gazpacho cocktail, using a martini class i put a bit of chiffinade of lettuce ontop of that goes some jumbo lump and then I ladle some gazpacho over the crab. Garnish with lime and cilantro

[Suzanne F]

We like really strong flavors, so I ususally puree about half a large white onion and lots of garlic in the blender with some tomato juice, then add olive oil (preferably a strong Spanish one like El Toro; no wimpy EVOO here!) and sherry or red wine vinegar, plus of course some salt and pepper. Mix that with chopped (unpeeled seedless) cucumbers, sweet peppers (red, green, yellow, orange -- some or all; anything except purple), fresh tomatoes, and some kind of hot sauce. The chopping can be by hand or in the food processor (each veg separately, of course).

If it turns out too spicy (even for us there is such a thing, when my hand slips), I'll mix in some yogurt.

And don't forget Gazpacho Blanco, with ground almonds, fresh bread crumbs, milk, garlic, sherry, olive oil, and white grapes (sometimes also cucumber).

[thelastsupper]

Salmonejo is good too! It is similar to a gazpacho, but thicker (more bread). And it has a hell of a lot more garlic. It's traditionallly topped with chopped ham and boiled egg. Some people find it too strong, but I like it alot. Though it's certainly not a very good precursor to romance.

[Blue Heron]

I make a gazpacho cocktail, using a martini class i put a bit of chiffinade of lettuce ontop of that goes some jumbo lump and then I ladle some gazpacho over the crab. Garnish with lime and cilantro

Yum... Thanks for the great idea! I'm going to try that with our garden tomatoes & local crab... (or prawns as helen suggested).

[aliwaks]

I make a somewhat international gazpacho:

I start with an yellow hierloom tomato juice that one of my local farmers makes into that I put a fine dice of cucmbers, red tomatoes, purple onion, jalapeno, scallions, cilantro I season with lime & lemon juice (fresh & lots of it) a touch of wasabi, sea salt and some basque red pepper ( the name of whihc escapes me at the moment) I garnish with shot of vodka (pepper vodka if I want to go really spicy) & sometimes a grilled shrimp or two

It's a fasntastic way to start off a BBQ..somewhere between a bloddy mary & a salad..also a pretty good hangover lunch

[Spoonful]

I tried Thomas Keller's (The French Laundry Cookbook). I never looked back!

Edited to add:

The only thing I changed: I roast the veggies first! YUM

[Johnathon]

I recently made a delicious Yellow Tomato Gazpacho with yellow hot-house tomatoes and yellow bell peppers. The yellow tomatoes are slightly sweeter and offset the use of hot peppers quite nicely. It would appear that the majority of recipes are similiar but I am also a fan of some heat in such a fine, cool soup.

Yellow tomatoes, yellow bell pepper, cucumber, sweet onion, orange juice, extra-virgin olive oil, Champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar, garlic, jalapeño chili with seeds. I am a fan of blending the mixture before serving and here is why: In the bowl I place a small mound of chopped avacado with spot prawns, tiger prawns or shrimp placed on top (I stole this idea from a dish I had at Ouest), then ladle in the Gazpacho around the avacado. The colors and tastes combine for a great dish and of course you can control the heat by not adding the seeds of the chili or ignore the chili completely.

If anyone would like the recipe, just PM me.

[Lord Michael Lewis]

Half an apple added to the recipe will stop it repeating on you.

[chefb]

Give me some corn chips. All sounds like salsa to me.

[Johnathon]

Repeating as in ingredients for gazpacho, or repeating from the backfiring chilis?

[stellabella]

Give me some corn chips.  All sounds like salsa to me.

i was just thinking, as in "traditional" Spanish gazpacho served with chunks of bread, a few corn chips might be great in a bowl of spicy gazpacho.

if gazpacho tastes like salsa, it isn't gazpacho. to me the key difference is seasoning--i like a fresh, hot, crisp salsa--tomatoes, HOOOTTT peppers & a bit of onion, maybe cilantro and lime, that's it. gazpacho, which can be very spicy, should also have a bit of sweetness to it, as well as olive oil to give it a little weight.

the recipes/descriptions ya'll have shared sound wonderful--the yellow gazpacho sounds particularly beautiful.

[guajolote]

Am I the only one who adds bread to my gazpacho? I think that without it the soup is too watery. I also don't like it with garlic or hot peppers.

Here's my recipe

[Basilgirl]

Give me some gazpacho, which can be very spicy, should also have a bit of sweetness to it, as well as olive oil to give it a little weight.

My sister adds a little honey to hers for sweetness, but I tried it and didn't like it.

I use the Cook's Illustrated recipe and it's very good.

No bread though. Although, as I understand it, the original Spanish gazpacho was based on bread and olive oil before tomatoes came along.

[Jaymes]

Am I the only one who adds bread to my gazpacho? I think that without it the soup is too watery. I also don't like it with garlic or hot peppers.

Here's my recipe

Thanks, G (if I may call you that).

I'm gonna be making this tomorrow.

And I can hardly wait!