Not all soups are served hot. Gazpacho is a great example of a delicious soup served chilled, and I have fine memories of it served to me in a Spanish restaurant in the town of Bad Homburg, Germany. I searched for a variety of recipes and the ones below are the best I found. I will try them, or some composite of them, and report back with results.
Enjoy … Gazpacho is easy to make and wonderful to eat on a hot day.
Recipe #1
Ingredients:
1 hothouse cucumber, halved and seeded, but not peeled
2 red bell peppers, cored and seeded
4 plum tomatoes
1 red onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups of tomato juice
1/4 cup of white wine vinegar
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
Roughly chop the cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, and red onions into 1-inch cubes.
Put each vegetable separately into a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until it is coarsely chopped. Do not overprocess.
After each vegetable is processed, combine them in a large bowl and add the garlic, tomato juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Mix well and chill before serving.
The longer the gazpacho sits, the more the flavors develop.
Serve the gazpacho in chilled bowls.
Recipe #2
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds of vine-ripened tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
Tomato juice
1 cup of cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup of chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup of chopped red onion
1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1 lime, juiced
2 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon of toasted, ground cumin
1 teaspoon of kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons of fresh basil leaves, chiffonade
Directions:
Fill a 6-quart pot halfway with water, and heat it on high heat until it boils.
Make an X with a paring knife on the bottom of each tomato.
Drop the tomatoes into the boiling water for 15 seconds, remove and transfer them to an ice bath and allow them to cool until they can be handled comfortably, approximately 1 minute.
Remove the tomatoes and pat them dry. Peel, core and seed the tomatoes. When seeding the tomatoes, place the seeds and pulp into a fine mesh strainer set over a bowl to catch the juice.
Press as much of the juice through as possible and then add enough bottled tomato juice to bring the total liquid volume to 1 cup.
Place the tomatoes and juice into a large mixing bowl.
Add the cucumber, bell pepper, red onion, jalapeno, garlic clove, olive oil, lime juice, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire, cumin, salt and pepper and stir to combine.
Transfer 1 1/2 cups of the mixture to a blender and puree for 15 to 20 seconds on high speed.
Return the pureed mixture to the bowl and stir to combine.
Cover and chill the gazpacho for at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
Serve the gazpacho in chilled bowls with chiffonade of basil.
Recipe #3
Ingredients:
Directions:
In a blender or food processor, combine the tomato juice, onion, bell pepper, cucumber, tomatoes, green onions, garlic, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, tarragon, basil, parsley, sugar, salt, and pepper.
Blend until the mixture is well-combined but still slightly chunky.
Chill at least 2 hours before serving.
Serve the gazpacho in chilled bowls.
Recipe #4
Ingredients:
6 ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 purple onion, finely chopped
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, chopped
1 sweet red (or green) bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1-2 Tbsp. of chopped fresh parsley
2 Tbsp. of chopped fresh chives
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/4 cup of red wine vinegar
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. of freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tsp. of sugar
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
6 or more drops of Tabasco sauce to taste
1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce
4 cups of tomato juice
Directions:
Combine all ingredients.
Blend slightly, to desired consistency, using a blender or food processor.
Place the soup in a non-metal, non-reactive storage container.
Cover it tightly and refrigerate overnight, allowing the flavors to blend.
Serve the gazpacho chilled bowls.