GAZPACHO

While we were doing our end of the month analysis of our statistics, we noted that the most prominent keyword search of the site was for recipes for Gazpaco, closely followed by Mediterranean recipes.

We had not realized that there was such a demand for these recipes. So, to satisfy an obvious need, we have dug into our databases and found a few recipes for gazpacho and we will be following this article with a selection of the most popular Mediterranean style recipes. So watch this space all of you who have been searching into out depths – it’s here for you (or will be in a couple of hours)

Gazpacho, in one form or another, is nearly as old as these hills. Some say it derives from the alboronía of the Moors, which certainly didn’t include tomatoes until after the discovery of the New World. The name probably derives from the Latin caspa, meaning fragment or little piece, and refers to the breadcrumbs which are such an essential ingredient. Gazpacho was and still is basic fare of the Andalusian peasant.

It was little appreciated by the upper classes until not so long ago when both vitamins and tourism were “discovered”. Then we learned that this poor man’s soup was extraordinarily nourishing and the tourists decided that, furthermore, it tasted good. Between that and the invention of the electric blender, gazpacho was soon out of the fields and on to the restaurant tables.

Here’s my tried and true recipe for Andalusian gazpacho: take a hot August afternoon at a little finca deep in the countryside. Pick the reddest, ripest tomatoes, sweet-smelling off the vine, a few green peppers, a cucumber, and dip them all in the cool water of a spring to rinse off the sun’s heat. In the deep shade of a carob tree, start mashing all these ingredients in a big wooden bowl, adding a bit of garlic and onion stored under the straw in the shed. Pick a lemon from a nearby tree and add its tang to the gazpacho. Oil, bread and salt — brought from home in a cloth bag — complete the gazpacho. From the earthenware jug add cold water. Serve immediately and follow with a siesta!

Gazpacho – Andalucía Liquid Salad

2 slices bread, crusts removed (75 g)
4 tbsp olive oil
4 large ripe tomatoes, peeled (1 kg)
2 tsp salt
2 small green peppers or 1 bell pepper
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/2 cucumber
5 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice
1/2 onion
1/4-1/2 ltr warm water
2 cloves garlic

Put the bread to soak in water to cover. Cut the peeled tomatoes into chunks and put them in blender or processor with the seeded peppers, cucumber and onion, all cut in pieces, and the garlic. (If blender container is too small, process in two batches if necessary.) Whirl until the vegetables are puréed and strain them into a large bowl or tureen. Squeeze the water from the bread and purée in processor. With the motor running, add the oil in a slow stream until incorporated into the bread. Then add the salt, cumin and vinegar. Ladle some of the tomato back into the processor, then mix it with the tureen of tomato puree. Stir in the water (more may be added for a thinner gazpacho) and correct the seasoning, adding more salt and vinegar to taste. Chill the gazpacho until serving time.

Garnishes: Typically, gazpacho is accompanied by small bowls of chopped tomatoes, chopped onions, chopped peppers, small croutons of toasted bread, diced, chopped hard-cooked eggs, chopped cucumbers. Not so typical but quite acceptable garnishes: chopped mint, chopped olives, strips of red pimiento, diced apples, pears, melon or peeled grapes.

Serving suggestions: As a “soup” course, serve gazpacho in wooden or ceramic bowls. Glasses or mugs might be used for serving as an aperitif. A chilled Thermos of gazpacho is wonderful picnic fare — serve into paper cups. Store it in the refrigerator in a glass jar or pitcher with a lid and have a gazpacho “pick-up” any time of the day (try it for breakfast!).

Leftover gazpacho can be used as dressing for lettuce salads, made into aspics with the addition of gelatine, or turned into a sauce for rice or pasta. Concoct a maría sangría by thinning gazpacho with vodka; serve over ice with a cucumber stick.

Adaptations: If you don’ t have a blender or processor and don’ t fancy the effort it takes to make gazpacho in the mortar, use a food mill, or a sieve, or finely chop the vegetables, add the bread and oil mixture, then water. This is really quite authentic.

Variations: Try green tomatoes instead of red ones with cucumber and a little onion, finished with dill and a dollop of sour cream or yoghurt; experiment with other seasonings — paprika, oregano, parsley, basil, chili powder, chopped chili peppers, coriander leaves.

GAZPACHO DE AGUACATES

Avocado Gazpacho
Omit the tomatoes and substitute 3 ripe avocados in the previous recipe. Thin to taste with water or chicken broth which has been chilled and defatted.

Gazpacho

5 slices white bread
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/3 cup (80mI) olive oil
1/4 cup (60mI) red wine vinegar
4 large ripe tomatoes (880g), peeled, chopped
2 Iebanese cucumbers, (260g) peeled, chopped
1 medium red pepper (200g), chopped
1 medium red onion (170g), chopped
1/3. cup (80mI) orange juice
1 small red onion (100g), finely chopped, extra
1 small red pepper (150g), finely chopped, extra
1 Iebanese cucumber, (130g) seeded, finely chopped, extra
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
12 ice cubes
croutons
2 slices white bread
2 tablespoons olive oil

Trim and discard crusts from bread, tear into pieces. Combine bread, garlic, oil and vinegar in medium bowl, stand 30 minutes. Blend or process bread mixture with tomato, cucumber, pepper, onion and juice until smooth. Press mixture through fine strainer; discard pulp. Cover, refrigerate
3 hours or ovenight. Just before serving, top soup with extra onion, extra pepper, extra cucumber, parsley, ice cubes and croutons.

Croutons: Trim and discard crusts from bread, cut into small cubes. Heat oil in medium pan, add
bread cubes, stir until just browned and crisp; drain on absorbent paper.

Gazpacho

A traditional, chilled soup, perfect for a summer lunch. Make sure all the ingredients are in peak condition for the best—flavoured soup.

INGREDIENTS
1 green pepper, seeded and roughly chopped
1 red pepper, seeded and roughly chopped
1/2 cucumber, roughly chopped
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 fresh red chilli, seeded and roughly chopped
450 g/1 lb ripe plum tomatoes, roughly chopped
900 ml/1 1/2 pints/3 3/4 cups passata or tomato juice
30 ml/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
30 ml/2 tbsp olive oil
15 ml/1 tbsp caster sugar
salt and freshly ground black pepper
crushed ice, to garnish (optional)

Reserve small pieces of green and red pepper, cucumber and onion, finely chop and set aside as a garnish. Process all the remaining ingredients (except the ice) in a blender or food processor until
smooth. You may need to do this in several batches. Pass the soup through a strainer into a clean glass bowl, pushing it through with a spoon to extract as much flavour as possible.

Adjust the seasoning and chill. Serve the gazpacho sprinkled with the reserved chopped peppers, cucumber and onion. For an extra special touch, add a little crushed ice to the garnish if liked.

GAZPACHO BLANCO CON HUEVOS – White Gazpacho with Eggs

1 thick slice bread
1 egg
2 cloves garlic
150 ml olive oil
6 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp salt
3/4 ltr water
apples
peanuts

Soak the bread in water to cover. Put the egg and garlic in blender or processor and whirl them. With the motor running, add the oil in a slow stream until the sauce is amalgamated. Squeeze the water out of the bread and add it to the processor with the lemon juice and salt. Then add, slowly, as much water as the container will hold. Pour the contents into a bowl and thin with more water. Chill the gazpacho and serve with chopped apples and chopped peanuts in each bowl. Serves 4.

AJ0 BLANCO CON UVAS – White Garlic Soup with Grapes

This sensational summer soup is better than the sum of its ingredients might indicate. Try it.

3 thick slices bread (about 200 g), crusts removed
100 g almonds, blanched and skinned
3 cloves garlic
150 ml olive oil
5 tbsp vinegar
2 tsp salt
1 ltr water
200 g muscatel grapes

Soak the bread in water until softened, squeeze it out and put in blender or processor with the almonds and peeled garlic. Blend to a smooth sauce (adding a little water if necessary). Then, with the motor running, add the oil in a slow stream, then the vinegar and salt. Beat in some of the water, then pour the contents of the container into a pitcher, wooden bowl or tureen and add the remaining water. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt or vinegar if necessary. Serve garnished with peeled and seeded grapes. Serves 6.

GAZPACHO CALIENTE – Hot Gazpacho (Tomato Soup)

1 medium onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
50 ml oil
1/4 tsp saffron or paprika
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp ground pepper
chili pepper (optional)
1 tsp salt
1 ltr water or stock
4 slices bread, toasted and cubed

In a soup pot combine the onion, pepper, tomatoes, garlic and oil and let them stew for 10 minutes. In a mortar crush the saffron and mix with the cumin, pepper and salt. Add to the pot with the water or stock. Bring to the boil and cook for I0 minutes more. Serve garnished with croutons of toasted bread. (Clams, prawns and pieces of fish can be added to this soup.) Garnish with mint and serve with figs and pieces of green pepper and raw onions, or apples, grapes or diced cucumber. One unusual version includes snails.

More Mediterranean Recipes to follow

paella Recipes with Bill & Sheila
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