Spanish Gazpacho Soup
I know it's not technically summer anymore here in Australia, but I thought I'd sneak this recipe in before it's too late!
I actually shot this recipe a few weeks back at the very end of summer when I was overloaded with tomatoes from both our garden and my parents 'out-of-law”' garden. It's such a quick and easy way to use up all your beautiful ripe tomatoes and, did I mention it's delicious? I have never actually been that keen on gazpacho (when its bad, it's really bad!), but it's one of Che's speciality and I quickly came round to loving it. Che likes to make it for Summer Solstice every year so it now also has very happy connotations. Our family has never celebrated Christmas, preferring to instead celebrate with a ritual and large shared meal on the longest day of the year, Summer Solstice, usually December 21 down here in the Southern Hemisphere. Each person is asked to bring a special dish to share and I often beg Che to make his gazpacho. It's such a great way to start a festive meal and helps prepare our hungry stomach's for all the rich food to follow!
So really this is Che's recipe not mine. I will take a small amount of credit though as I had to translate the vague ingredients and quantities he had in his head into this recipe and test it multiple times. Like he forgot to mention I should peel the damn cucumber, so my first go I ended up with a very unappealing looking brownish lumpy mess. But in the end we got there. So thank you Che.
It’s important to note, under no circumstances attempt to make this with out of season tomatoes. It's all about the tomato, so if thats not right, nor will your gazpacho. Just don't do it. So if you a reading this from somewhere on the other side of the world, sorry you will just have to be patient and wait a few months for the hot weather and tomato season to arrive. But don't forget about this recipe if you have never tried making gazpacho before, give it a go and I promise you'll love it! Just imagine those warm summer months cooling yourself with some refreshing gazpacho....
I can't leave this before I admit that whilst I do truly love gazpacho, the real reason I love it so much may be the excuse it provides me to eat as many croutons as I like. I live for croutons, the more garlicky, the better. I love the contrast between the smooth soup and the crunchy salty croutons. If I'm truly honest, when I serve myself gazpacho, it's about fifty percent soup and fifty percent croutons! So whatever you do, don't forget the croutons!
Spanish Gazpacho Soup Recipe
Prep time: Approximately 30 minutes
Makes: Approximately 4 large serves
Dietary guide: This recipe is vegan. For a FODMAP friendly and gluten free version, see the end of the recipe
Ingredients
700g-750g of ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped (about 6-7 tomatoes)
¾ of a large cucumber, peeled and chopped
1 medium red pepper, deseeded and chopped
1/3 red onion peeled
1 tablespoon of sherry or red wine vinegar
1 ½ teaspoons of freshly roasted and ground cumin seeds
½ teaspoon of smoked paprika
¼ teaspoon of freshly roasted and ground coriander seeds
2 garlic cloves peeled
2 teaspoons of salt flakes
4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 small stale baguette
Extras for garnish such as mini tomatoes, cuces and fresh herbs
Method
Pre-heat the oven to 160 degrees C. First, prep the garlic for both the soup and the croutons. Place the two cloves of garlic in a mortar and pestle along with the 2 teaspoons of salt flakes. Grind up until a rough paste forms. Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and continue to mix until the garlic and oil are well combined and look creamy. Place 2 teaspoons of the creamed garlic into a blender and leave the rest of the garlic on the mortar for the croutons.
Break off 30g of the baguette, tear into small pieces and place into the blender along with the peeled tomatoes, cucumber, capsicum, onion, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, the spices and vinegar.
Blend on high until smooth. Taste and add more garlic, spices or seasoning if you think it needs it. Place in the fridge to chill before serving.
To make the croutons, break of chop up the rest of the baguette into small pieces and place in a baking tray. Add the last 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the remains creamed garlic in the mortar. Mix well and pour over the bread. Using your hand, toss the oil and bread together, season highly with salt and place in the oven. Bake until golden, stirring once. They would take between 20-30 minutes to cook.
To serve, divide the chilled soup among 4 bowls. Top with the croutons and any extra garnishes you desire.
Gluten free adaptation: Use gluten free bread for the croutons. I would suggest skipping any bread in the soup and instead add an extra tablespoon or more of olive oil to make it creamer.
FODMAP friendly adaptation: Make sure you use sourdough bread and replace the onion with 1/4 cup of chipped green spring only and the garlic with 1 tablespoon of garlic oil.
