Gazpacho is a great way to start a meal on a hot summer day and you’ll find it all over Andalusia. This includes restaurants, homes and market stalls (which frequently sell a litre for just a couple of euro). But nothing beats making it yourself and serving it as a starter or as a standalone light lunch, served with some fresh bread.
What we're aiming for:
1.5-2 litres of Gazpacho - about 4 servings Fresh baguette for dipping
The Components:
1 kg nice red vine tomatoes, quartered - if you can find ones that are almost “overripe”, then even better.
1 small-medium sized cucumber, peeled and chopped into three or four large chunks
1 sweet green pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped
Half a white onion, roughly chopped
1 large garlic clove, roughly sliced
½ teaspoon of cumin (you can use less but we love the stuff)
3 tablespoons of sherry or red wine vinegar, depending on your taste
2 teaspoons of salt
1 piece of bread - about 4 inches long if cutting from a baguette, two slices if from a loaf
1 cup of olive oil - virgin is fine
The Algorithm: - Soak the bread in a bowl of water for about 30 seconds. Remove and squeeze as much of the water out as possible with your hands. - Place the tomatoes, cucumber, green pepper, onion, garlic and bread into a food processor. Then add the cumin, salt, vinegar and olive oil. - Blitz that shiz for as long as possible. Then blitz it again for as long as you can take it. Then one more for luck. You shouldn’t be able to see any whole pieces in the liquid, but it will be quite thick, almost creamy.
- Place a sieve over a glass bowl and strain the liquid through. Extract as much liquid as possible. - Now place that liquid into a fridge for a couple of hours to cool.
And that's it! When it’s time to serve, drizzle a few drops of extra virgin olive oil on it then take it to your table. Enjoy!