Another recipe request for gazpacho picked out of three style choices: Italian, Provencal, or Spanish.
The Spanish always use green peppers for their gazpacho, which is what differs from the other two styles. I make my grandmother's Provencal style gazpacho by roasting all the vegetables first. It has a great flavour when the veggies are roasted.
The recipe below is for a blender, but I don't use one. I use a clay mortar and a wooden pestle used in Spanish/Mexican/Thai cooking to make this and all my styles of gazpacho. It's a lot more work, but it gives the best texture and taste.
Now a few other tips. When making Spanish style gazpacho I highly recommend using Spanish olive oil. In fact I prefer almost all olive oils from other regions around the Med to Italian except when I'm cooking Italian dishes that are served with olive oil (meaning the oil isn't used in the cooking process but to impact the taste). Also this recipe can use red wine or sherry vinegar, but if you can get it I'd always go with sherry vinegar for this particular recipe.
There is a lot of argument over whether it's more traditional to toast the bread or to soak it in water. I'm more of the soak it in water than toasting it for this particular recipe, but plenty of people would argue with me about that. Also, I add spice, which is definitely not traditional, but when I've had gazpacho in Spain they always served some peppers on the side as garnish, but I think it improves the taste to add it directly. Don't let the spice overpower though.
Spanish Gazpacho
Ingredients:
3 lb. ripe plum/roma tomatoes, peeled, cored, seeded, coarsely chopped
2 slices of white bread, crust removed
2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded, coarsely chopped
1 small red onion, coarsely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 green bell peppers
1 green chili (Thai, jalapeno, anything with a bit of kick will do) seeded and minced fine
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine or sherry vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Garnish:
1 tsp each of cucumber and green pepper, finely chopped
2. The easiest way to peel tomatoes is to make a small "X" with a knife at the stem top and bottom. Boil water in a medium saucepan. As soon as water boils, turn off heat and place the tomatoes into the hot water for 1 minute. Carefully remove hot tomatoes. The skin will rub off easily.
3. Place the tomatoes, bread, cucumbers, onions, garlic and peppers in a blender. Blend until the mixture is smooth. All the ingredients may not fit at one time, so you may have to fill the blender several times.
4. Once gazpacho is completely blended, pour it into a large non-metallic bowl.
5. Stir in the oil and vinegar. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix well, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (the longer the better, but stir thoroughly every hour).
Garnish with the chopped vegetables. If more spice is desire add fresh chilies to taste or a pinch of coarse cayenne pepper.
The Spanish always use green peppers for their gazpacho, which is what differs from the other two styles. I make my grandmother's Provencal style gazpacho by roasting all the vegetables first. It has a great flavour when the veggies are roasted.
The recipe below is for a blender, but I don't use one. I use a clay mortar and a wooden pestle used in Spanish/Mexican/Thai cooking to make this and all my styles of gazpacho. It's a lot more work, but it gives the best texture and taste.
Now a few other tips. When making Spanish style gazpacho I highly recommend using Spanish olive oil. In fact I prefer almost all olive oils from other regions around the Med to Italian except when I'm cooking Italian dishes that are served with olive oil (meaning the oil isn't used in the cooking process but to impact the taste). Also this recipe can use red wine or sherry vinegar, but if you can get it I'd always go with sherry vinegar for this particular recipe.
There is a lot of argument over whether it's more traditional to toast the bread or to soak it in water. I'm more of the soak it in water than toasting it for this particular recipe, but plenty of people would argue with me about that. Also, I add spice, which is definitely not traditional, but when I've had gazpacho in Spain they always served some peppers on the side as garnish, but I think it improves the taste to add it directly. Don't let the spice overpower though.
Spanish Gazpacho
Ingredients:
3 lb. ripe plum/roma tomatoes, peeled, cored, seeded, coarsely chopped
2 slices of white bread, crust removed
2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded, coarsely chopped
1 small red onion, coarsely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 green bell peppers
1 green chili (Thai, jalapeno, anything with a bit of kick will do) seeded and minced fine
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine or sherry vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Garnish:
1 tsp each of cucumber and green pepper, finely chopped
Preparation:
1. Soak the bread in a small amount (few tablespoons) of water. Gently remove and “squeeze” dry.2. The easiest way to peel tomatoes is to make a small "X" with a knife at the stem top and bottom. Boil water in a medium saucepan. As soon as water boils, turn off heat and place the tomatoes into the hot water for 1 minute. Carefully remove hot tomatoes. The skin will rub off easily.
3. Place the tomatoes, bread, cucumbers, onions, garlic and peppers in a blender. Blend until the mixture is smooth. All the ingredients may not fit at one time, so you may have to fill the blender several times.
4. Once gazpacho is completely blended, pour it into a large non-metallic bowl.
5. Stir in the oil and vinegar. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix well, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (the longer the better, but stir thoroughly every hour).
Garnish with the chopped vegetables. If more spice is desire add fresh chilies to taste or a pinch of coarse cayenne pepper.
