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How to Make Gazpacho

Name: How to Make Gazpacho
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 2 pounds ripe tomatoes; 1 cucumber; 1 red bell pepper; 1/4 white onion; 2 garlic cloves; 2 slices day-old white bread; 1/3 cup olive oil; 3 tablespoons sherry vinegar; 1 teaspoon salt

Gazpacho is raw vegetables blended smooth and chilled. Start with ripe tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Add good olive oil, sherry vinegar, and bread for body. Blend everything until smooth, strain if you want it silky, then chill for at least two hours. The key is using vegetables at their peak and tasting as you go.

Total time: 2 hr 20 min
Hands-on: 20 min
Serves: 4
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

2 pounds ripe tomatoes
1 cucumber
1 red bell pepper
1/4 white onion
2 garlic cloves
2 slices day-old white bread
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon salt

Step by step

Prepare the vegetables. Core 2 pounds ripe tomatoes and chop roughly. Peel 1 cucumber and dice. Remove seeds from 1 red bell pepper and chop. Dice 1/4 of a white onion. Mince 2 garlic cloves. Everything goes in raw, so make sure your tomatoes are truly ripe.
Soak the bread. Tear 2 slices of day-old white bread into pieces. Soak in cold water for 5 minutes, then squeeze out excess water with your hands. This gives your gazpacho body without making it heavy.
Blend the base. Put tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, onion, garlic, and squeezed bread in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Work in batches if needed. You want no chunks left.
Season and finish. With the blender running, slowly pour in 1/3 cup good olive oil and 3 tablespoons sherry vinegar. Add 1 teaspoon salt. Taste and adjust. More vinegar for brightness, more salt for depth, more oil for richness.
Strain and chill. Push the mixture through a fine mesh strainer for silky gazpacho, or skip this for more texture. Chill for at least 2 hours, preferably 4. Cold is essential. Taste again before serving and adjust seasoning.

Tips & troubleshooting

Taste your tomatoes first. If they are not sweet and flavorful raw, your gazpacho will not be either
Make it a day ahead. Gazpacho tastes better after the flavors marry overnight in the refrigerator
Serve it cold in chilled bowls. Room temperature gazpacho tastes flat and wrong
Save some diced vegetables before blending to use as garnish with a drizzle of olive oil

Variations

White Gazpacho. Replace tomatoes with blanched almonds and white grapes. Add more garlic and finish with green grape garnish.
Watermelon Gazpacho. Use 3 cups cubed watermelon instead of half the tomatoes. Add fresh mint and lime juice instead of sherry vinegar.
Green Gazpacho. Build around green tomatoes, cucumber, and green bell pepper. Add fresh herbs like basil or parsley directly to the blend.

Questions

Can I make gazpacho without bread?: Yes, but the bread gives body and helps emulsify the olive oil. Without it, your gazpacho may separate and taste thinner.
How long does gazpacho keep?: Three days in the refrigerator. The flavors actually improve after the first day, but it starts to lose freshness after that.
Why is my gazpacho bitter?: Usually from cucumber skin, bell pepper seeds, or garlic that is too harsh. Peel the cucumber completely and use sweet red bell pepper instead of green.
Can I freeze gazpacho?: Not recommended. The texture changes completely when frozen and thawed. The vegetables release water and it becomes watery and separated.