Spain · Spanish cuisine of Andalusia
Gazpacho andaluz
A silky, intensely fresh cold soup of ripe tomatoes, pepper and cucumber blended with garlic, bread, olive oil and Sherry vinegar, served ice-cold with crisp croutons and diced vegetables.
Cookhuddle Editorial Cookhuddle | Spain
Editorial selection: recipes cross-checked against several documentary sources. They have not been tested in our kitchen: follow the precautions given and adapt times to your own oven.
Photo: Juan Emilio Prades Bel · CC BY 4.0 · Source · cropped
translation Translated from Spanish. Translation by Cookhuddle Editorial. Read the original
Read this recipe inespañol · originalEnglish · translationfrançais · translation
- Servings
- 6
- Preparation
- 20 min
- Cooking
- 0 min
- Resting
- 120 min
- Total
- 140 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
Cuisine / tradition: Spanish cuisine of Andalusia (ES) — declared by the author
- Soup
- Starter
- No cooking
Ingredients
For 6 servings
- 1 kg ripe tomatoes (pera type)
- 1 piece green pepper (Italian type), seeded
- 1 piece cucumber, peeled
- 2 clove garlic cloves, germ removed
- 50 g stale country bread
- 250 ml cold water
- 50 ml extra-virgin olive oil, plus a little to serve
- 30 ml Sherry vinegar
- 5 g salt
- 1 slice bread slice, diced, for the croutons
- 1 tbsp olive oil, for the croutons
Method
- Step 1. Wash the vegetables. Roughly chop the tomatoes, the pepper and the cucumber. Soak the bread in 100 ml of the cold water for 5 minutes.
- Step 2. Put the vegetables, the garlic, the soaked bread with its water, the rest of the cold water, the vinegar and the salt in a blender. Blend for 3 to 4 minutes until perfectly smooth, then, with the motor running, pour in the 50 ml of olive oil in a thin stream to emulsify.⏱ 4 min
- Step 3. Pass the gazpacho through a fine sieve, pressing with a ladle, to remove skins and seeds. Taste and adjust the salt and vinegar.
- Step 4. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight, until very cold. Do not add ice, which dilutes the flavour.⏱ 120 min
- Step 5. For the croutons, fry the diced bread in the tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes until golden. Finely dice a little extra tomato, cucumber and pepper if you want to serve the garnishes.⏱ 4 min
- Step 6. Stir the gazpacho, pour it into chilled bowls or glasses and finish with a thread of olive oil. Offer the croutons and diced vegetables to add at the table.
Story and cultural note
Gazpacho andaluz is one of the most typical dishes of Spanish cuisine, a cold summer soup. Sources agree that tomato, garlic and olive oil are its key ingredients; green pepper, cucumber and bread are very common, and onion divides families, with some banning it from the soup and allowing it only finely diced as a garnish. The oldest versions had no tomato, but all the recipes read here start from ripe tomatoes. It is eaten ice-cold, sometimes drunk from a glass.
Tips for success
Use very ripe, flavourful tomatoes: they are the whole soup. Blend for several minutes and add the oil last, in a thin stream, so that it emulsifies into a velvety cream. Straining gives the silky texture. Chill well and taste again before serving: cold dulls salt and acidity.
Serving and presentation
Serve ice-cold in bowls or glasses with a thread of olive oil. Bring the croutons and the diced cucumber, tomato and pepper in small bowls for guests to add.
Diet and allergens
Information declared by the author. CookHuddle does not verify or certify it. If you have an allergy, check the ingredients yourself.
DietVegetarianVeganDairy-freeEgg-freeNut-free
ContainsGluten (cereals)Sulphites
