Summertime Gazpacho
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There is nothing like gazpacho in summertime. Gazpacho is a cold, spicy, raw tomato soup which originated in southern Spain, made with peppers, onion, garlic and cucumbers which are either diced and/or blended.
It is so nice on a hot day to not have to turn on the oven. Besides that, it’s a great way to use up all those tomatoes in your garden. And it’s gluten-free, casein-free, and GAPS-legal.
Notes on this Recipe
There are many different recipes for gazpacho. Most contain bread and tomato juice. I don’t use bread and I like to make gazpacho with chicken stock instead of tomato juice. Chicken stock adds a lot more flavor, and it’s also a lot nutrient-dense than using water or tomato juice. And chicken stock is good for digestion. If you have issues with digestion (food intolerances, discomfort, etc.), incorporating chicken stock into your diet will help.
I have made this recipe with and without the herbs and hot peppers (jalapenos). I like it both ways. If you like hot and spicy, use the hot peppers. If you prefer a more mild soup, you can skip it. If you have the herbs in your garden, throw them in. If you don’t, the soup will still come out great. If the soup comes out too spicy for you, you can always add more tomato and cucumber at the end.
The texture is also up to you. Some people like a very chunky diced gazpacho. Others prefer a very smooth blended soup. I like mine somewhere in between. If you want it chunky, use a knife and not a food processor. If you like it smooth, don’t even bother cutting anything up and throw everything in the food processor or blender. If you’re like me and like it somewhere in between, cut the veggies into large chunks and use your food processor’s pulse function and don’t overblend.
This soup gets more flavorful over time. So, ideally, make it 12-24 hours in advance. I’m never that good at planning ahead myself — but we always enjoy the leftovers the next day. You can eat this out of the fridge for a few days — or you can freeze it in ice cube trays.
Summertime Gazpacho
Ingredients:
3 cups (24 ounces) homemade chicken stock
5-6 medium tomatoes (I like to use a blend of red and yellow)
2 large cucumbers (or 4 Persian cucumbers)
1 red bell pepper or 1 yellow bell pepper (or 1/2 of each — you can also use green bell pepper; I just don’t like the taste as much)
1/2 large red onion (or 1 small red onion)
2-3 garlic cloves
1 jalapeno or serrano pepper (optional)
1 bunch parsley (optional)
1 bunch basil (optional)
1 bunch cilantro (optional)
Olive oil
Balsamic or red wine vinegar
Freshly squeezed lemon or lime (optional)
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Avocado (optional)
1. If you keep your chicken stock frozen like I do, warm it up in a saucepan. When warm, pour into a bowl and stick it in the fridge to let it cool down.
2. Peel the tomatoes, remove the seeds, and cut into large chunks. The best way to peel tomatoes: fill a medium saucepan halfway with water (enough to cover your tomatoes), bring to a boil, place the tomatoes in and boil for one minute — set aside to cool and peel). Add to the a bowl, or the bowl of your food processor. (I do it in my food processor.)
3. Peel the cucumbers, scrape out the seeds, and cut into large pieces. Add to bowl.
4. Remove the seeds from the peppers and cut them up into large pieces. Add to bowl.
5. Peel the onion and cut it up, crush the garlic and add to bowl.
6. If using, rinse the parsley/basil/cilantro, chop, and add to bowl.
7. If using the food processor, pulse a few times for chunkier gazpacho. Blend longer for smoother gazpacho.
8. Transfer to a large bowl. Add the cooled chicken stock. Add a glug of olive oil and a glug of vinegar. If using lemon or lime juice, squeeze a little in. Stir.
9. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly grated black pepper.
10. Taste and add olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper until it is to your liking.
11. Serve with ice cubes and/or, if you have some on hand, chunks of avocado.
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31/08/2009 at 4:10 pm Permalink
Yay! I finally get to try this recipe that I actually got to TASTE MYSELF when I visited in April, remember?!! It was so good I cannot wait to make it!
Kelly
01/09/2009 at 6:18 pm Permalink
What I’ve gotten from people who have been to spain (as in, people who have taken the time to seek out food, and old grandma’s and the like), is that the base of any gazpacho is bread mushed up from olive oil. after that, you can add whatever you want veggie wise, but the soul of it is the oil and bread. I have subscribed to this philosophy for a long time, and it always turns out amazing.
02/09/2009 at 7:50 am Permalink
GREAT!!! recipe full of GREAT!!! summer veggies. Geri
02/09/2009 at 7:55 am Permalink
Blake –
Yes that is a traditional way to make gazpacho. However, I have seen recipes with and without bread. It’s like any regional standby recipe — there are always variations and different versions are passed down.
I wanted to make a gazpacho that had no bread — so people who are gluten-intolerant or doing GAPS could eat it. I also just don’t think the bread is necessary. This soup is so flavorful and delicious. I guess I’d just rather limit my bread intake. I LOVE bread, and it’s easy for me to eat too much — so I try to eat it when it counts. Like a yummy bagel or a croissant occasionally.
I also wanted a chicken stock base — it is a good way to get more bone broth into your family.
03/09/2009 at 1:32 pm Permalink
I have been wanting to make chicken stock so badly – I’m almost out. I might have to do it this weekend. I love gazpacho and your recipe is full of great flavors. Also – I appreciate all of the notes to help understand the recipe better. Gazpacho has so many variations and you have lots of great suggestions.
Did the veggies come from your garden? They look fresh off of the vine.
05/09/2009 at 3:37 pm Permalink
This looks like a great recipe, and thinking about it is making me hungry:)
I’m new to blogging myself (just started today), and I wanted to say how much I love your blog. “Nourishing Traditions” and the research of Weston Price have been life-changing for me, but it can be a challenge to incorporate traditional foods. Your posts are both informative and practical. I initially found your site when I was looking for details on how to make beet kvass.
To Good Health through Traditional Foods!
05/09/2009 at 4:51 pm Permalink
This sounds so yummy…be a good soup to make a head, portion out and take on the road.
07/09/2009 at 2:10 pm Permalink
love gazpacho.
question for you. seems you do a bit of shopping at TJ’s and have an idea of what items fit the bill for a nourished life. If you have a sec, would you let us know which breads are REAL sourdough? My husband makes ours, but occasionally we get a flop and then we’re a bit short on bread for the week. and it is convenient that TJ’s is around our corner. btw, do you think their pizza dough counts as soaked, albeit not sprouted.
09/09/2009 at 6:27 am Permalink
Just checking…
Did you REALLY peel all those tiny red tomatoes?? I have nearly a bushel of the yummy little things! My boys & I have been snacking on them, but as far as cooking them or making them into salsa or gazpacho, I’ve been more than a little intimidated by skinning them all.
Thanks!
14/09/2009 at 10:40 pm Permalink
Peasprout, I’ll jump in here, and Ann Marie can correct me if I’m wrong…I think a true sourdough will not have ANY yeast in the ingredients.
Kelly
15/09/2009 at 7:20 am Permalink
Yes sorry I haven’t been commenting guys — I was hacked and am dealing w/ the aftermath.
Peasprout – Kelly is right. If you look on the ingredients on the bread label, if it says “sourdough culture” or even just “flour and water” but does NOT say yeast, that’s real sourdough. If it has added yeast, it’s been leavened with commercial yeast, not real sourdough.
And no I did not peel all those tomatoes. I got them from my garden and took a photo. I tried making gazpacho with them and not peeling them but I don’t like it when I eat tomato peels in gazpacho. So I recommend using regular tomatoes, not cherry tomatoes for gazpacho. It’s very easy to peel reg. tomatoes using the method I describe of blanching them.
15/09/2009 at 7:51 am Permalink
Hi Annemarie!
I’ve been following your blog for a while, and I’ve enjoyed all of the great recipes and information on here!
I’m an American living in Germany, and I’m still in the process of exploring the food landscape. (The eggs here are much better, for one). I was in a health food store today and I ran into Kanne Brottrunk: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_Drink . The details are in the article, but it’s basically a sourdough kvass. I’m not used to the taste of nonalcoholic fermented beverages, but Brottrunk tastes pretty good when mixed with a little bit of apple juice and sparkling water. The best part is that 0,75 L only costs about two euros.
Readers in Europe may already know about it, but if not, they may want to keep an eye out for it.
I’m hoping that probiotics (among other things) will help keep the colds at bay through the cold, wet autumn!
15/09/2009 at 8:02 am Permalink
Also, I’ve noticed that Germans in generally are slimmer than Americans. I have further noticed that they eat plenty of full fat yogurt and cream cheese, pork, beef, eggs, etc. You’ll see some items in the store advertised as low-fat, but I think that people here instinctively know that low-fat sausage is just wrong, haha. And yet obesity isn’t much of a problem here! Hmmmmmmmmm. How about that!
17/09/2009 at 5:00 pm Permalink
I miss your posts
.
18/09/2009 at 3:45 pm Permalink
Oh, I love gazpacho! Never made it myself though, which is pure silliness!
18/09/2009 at 5:48 pm Permalink
Did Big Agriculture hack into your website?
I agree Mk – I miss your posts…
18/09/2009 at 9:03 pm Permalink
me, too! hurry back AM!!! we miss you