Gazpacho is truly one of summer’s finest pleasures in our household. It is like drinking pure vitamins straight up as a liquid salad. Gazpacho origins are thought to date back to the 7th century.
Benefits: Whatever the ingredients, gazpacho is a healthy soup rich in minerals, antioxidants, fiber and in vitamins C, A and E. Red tomatoes, for example, are high in carotenoids such as lycopene and beta-carotene, antioxidants that can prevent prostate cancer, high blood pressure and eye problems.
There are literally hundreds of gazpacho recipes online. My spouse, P, is originally from Chile (Spanish with a heavy dose of German and Irish thrown into the mix), lived in New York City for over twenty years and while there had a lot of Chilean friends. A few of them had lived in Spain for years and this is where our recipe below comes from. P is quite a chef and never uses recipes or cookbooks. (exception is The Gaijin Cookbook but mainly for inspiration) Also each batch of gazpacho is never quite the same but always delicious. The three main Spanish ingredients are tomatoes, green bell peppers and cucumbers and they also insist on Sherry Vinegar.
I picked the garden the morning we were preparing this gazpacho, in case we needed more tomatoes than the ones in the diary’s photo. About half of the tomatoes above came from my garden and the other half from our local farm stand where they give away overripe tomatoes for free. P always says the riper the tomato the better. We didn’t need the tomatoes below but we did use the yellow banana chili pepper.
The ingredients that we will be using today for the first batch are:
Tomatoes (one large, six plum)
2 small cucumbers, seeds removed
1 large bell pepper, seeds removed
Sherry Vinegar, drizzle
Olive Oil, drizzle
Kosher Salt, large pinch
Oregano, small amount
Small banana chili pepper, half
Garlic, four cloves
Smoked Paprika, large spoonful
Basil, handful
Black Pepper, to taste
Merquen, healthy amount
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients and washing the vegetables
I’ve been growing basil on the back steps all summer and just bought the two pots on the right that were on sale. Pesto will be on our agenda soon.
I picked a large handful of basil from these. We could not locate our black pepper grinder after an extensive search so instead we used white pepper from this shaker. (maybe we threw the grinder in the garbage or recyclables by mistake!)
First we smashed the garlic gloves under a large knife (not one shown) which makes them easy to peel. P says that the thicker ingredients always go first into the blender. We also threw in half of the pepper.
Next after removing their seeds, we placed the two small cucumbers and green bell pepper. We pulsed this a few times.
Then we followed with the first of our tomatoes. We only remove the small top core of the tomato and any blemishes but always leave the seeds.
we use this old Blacker & Decker Power Pro food processor that I couldn’t really find anything about online other than used ones for sale on ebay. P purchased this one in NYC maybe 25 years ago.
So let’s hit “pulse” a few times as I enjoy this part. For this batch we used one of the larger tomatoes and about six of the plum size
Okay. Now we take the Vinegar and drizzle it in one circle around the inside of the blender jar. (P uses Sherry Vinegar and the Spanish do as well but we couldn’t locate ours after another intensive search. Maybe we threw it out with the pepper grinder. I need a glass of wine. The Balsamic Vinegar of Modena is a good substitute though for the Sherry). Next drizzle the Olive Oil in a circle. Then pulse again.
Add a large pinch of salt
and lastly add the basil, smoke paprika, white pepper and marquen
Again pulse. Taste for flavor. Bravo, we’re finished. Perfecto.
We store the gazpacho in plastic containers reused from Whole Foods, whether we put them in the refrigerator or freezer. It always tastes best the next day served chilled from the refrigerator. In the winter, we thaw the gazpacho and then serve it warm.
We prefer our gazpacho a bit chunky but not enough that we are unable to drink it. Others prefer theirs as a smooth puree or even more chunky. According to your preference
Now for a big surprise. I made the second batch below by myself. I used the rest of the tomatoes from the white bowl. No, this large kitchen knife is not because we were fighting although P does hate for anyone else to be in the kitchen.
We did not have more oregano so I substituted with cheap Herbs de Provence which was fine. P does insist that a good olive oil and vinegar must be used. I know of some who have substituted watermelon for the tomatoes! (ugh). The fun part of making this Spanish version is that you can use whatever you want as long as you have the basic tomatoes, green bell peppers and cucumbers. Also Sherry Vinegar. The container on the left contains Merquen. This is a Chilean type of chili pepper that is hard to find and not necessary. We add it to ours because we enjoy its kick. Our Merquen stash comes from traveling Chileans that pass through here.
Would you like a taste of my first ever gazpacho? It truly came out great and was not as spicy as the first batch.
P insists that we only eat gazpacho from these Apilco Porcelaine bowls made in France that were brought into our marriage but not by me. Who am I to argue as the only other time the bowls are really used is sometimes for dessert — gelato with berries. (P does not know that occasionally I drink the gazpacho straight from the plastic containers while standing at the refrigerator door though once became highly suspicious of me by a red circle around my upper lip)
There is a small TV in the kitchen where P pretty much watches only business and cooking shows. One favorite for years was Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa) until this summer when she used canned tomatoes to make her gazpacho! A cardinal sin!!! I have since heard P on the phone speaking Spanish with family and friends when the only words I understood were “Ina Garten”. Her sin has spread far and wide and now gone viral. Shame on her!
This link below is a video of Ina making gazpacho with tomato juice. It’s very much worth watching as she makes it appear easy, quick, healthy and chunky. I don’t have the heart to let P know about the tomato juice as the anguish from the canned tomatoes has already been too much to bear.
www.foodnetwork.com/…
So I’m a guy that struggles to boil an egg. If I can make gazpacho then so can you! Just have fun and be creative.
Enjoy!
gazpacho served with a meatloaf sandwich on tomato & basil bread
gazpacho served with a shrimp burger topped with avocado plus a kale salad
Shhh … don’t tell P but I needed to make more room in the refrigerator for some weekend gazpacho
* full disclosure. the above diary was written by a non-cook who is normally not allowed into the kitchen during preparation times but whose attendance is strongly encouraged during cleanup or there might not be a next meal
