I can’t believe that I’d never made—or worse, even had—gazpacho before. Well, actually, I can. I didn’t grow up eating the most exotic, or daring—or hell, even sophisticated-sounding—foods. I was 23 before I realized that a crudité is just a veggie plate and that chèvre is goat cheese. And while I’ve known that gazpacho was just pureed tomato-based soup for quite some time, I still hadn’t actually attempted to make it—until Monday, when I looked in my fridge and realized I had the basic foundation for a simple gazpacho: tomatoes, cucumbers and onions.
After glancing at a few recipes online (anyone who has read my book knows that in my life I’ve only followed one recipe from start to finish) I decided I would up the bell pepper factor—most recipes called for one green pepper, I saw that green pepper and raised it a yellow one—make it a tad spicy and try something I now like to call the half-and-half method.
The half-and-half method is, simply, halving all of your gazpacho ingredients and pureeing one half while chopping the other—both in the blender, separately—and then combining the two.
While I have very little to compare it to (remember, I’d never had gazpacho before) I’m considering it a success.
Recipe after the jump…
Ingredients
2 medium cucumbers (skins on), chopped and seeded
4 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 large, white onion chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 yellow sweet bell pepper, chopped and seeded
1 green bell pepper, chopped and seeded
1/2 jalapeno pepper, chopped and seeded
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup lemon juice
1-3 tablespoons sea saltDirections
Take half of everything put it in the blender and puree until smooth. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and set aside.Take the other half of everything (save for the tomatoes) chop in the blender until the pieces are about one centimeter or smaller, then add the tomatoes, chop again for about 20 seconds and add mixture to the mixing bowl. Stir, salt to taste and refrigerate overnight.
This recipe wields enough to feed a small army. Or, say, one broke writer for lunch every day for a week and then some. I like mine with a slice of CSA sourdough bread, toasted (on the stove top with butter, of course).
#1 by adam at August 12th, 2009
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That looks awesome. I love the deep red color.
#2 by Janette at August 12th, 2009
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LOVELY pics! I’ve only had gazpacho once, but that was enough for me to figure out I wasn’t a fan. Should I rethink?
#3 by cari at August 12th, 2009
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Yum!
#4 by Ana at August 12th, 2009
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Great photo! It looks delicious. Next time, use sherry vinegar instead of lemon juice. Incredibly good.
#5 by kk at August 14th, 2009
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this many destroy the whole “uncooked” part of gazpacho, but try some oven roasted red peppers and onions — carmelized, and the peppers cooked until the skins are black. Adds a great flavor.
#6 by ellbeecee at August 15th, 2009
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I live in Arizona, and with the summer heat, I make a big pot of gazpacho almost every week - it’s super easy to take for lunch along with half a sandwich or some hard boiled egg whites (or just about any thing else that will add some protein to the meal) and it’s cheap and cooling.
I use a small-medium red onion because I love the flavor and avoid the green bell peppers because I don’t love them.
Otherwise, my recipe is similar, except I only blend the tomatoes, onion and garlic - the other stuff I chop to make sure I have good texture in it. It’s a love affair I have with gazpacho.
#7 by Matt, Hartford at August 19th, 2009
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I use a similar recipe, I add Corn, canned chipotle in Adobo, and red onion for a southwest feel.
Marinated artichokes, diced green olives, capers, a bit of feta to garnish, and some cumin make a nice italian/greek flavor.
Gotta admit, I’m not much of a fan though - its basically like eating a bowl of salsa :-p
#8 by Sally G at October 10th, 2009
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I love gazpacho! My mom’s is like a salad/soup: tomato juice for liquid, and chopped onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, garlic, garnished with some sliced black olives—I usually some hot sauce or minced jalapeños for spice. Great for a hot summer day!
#9 by Sally G at October 10th, 2009
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There used to be a restaurant in N.Y.C., I think it was Maxwell Plum, that served it with an ice cube in the center and a shot of vodka mixed in—trés elegant?