Gazpacho
The Andalusian classic: dead-ripe tomatoes blended raw with cucumber, pepper, and good olive oil into a silky cold soup. No stove, no recipe-fuss — just peak-season fruit and a blender.
Ingredients
serves 4From the garden
- 2½ lb very ripe tomatoes, cored and cut into chunks
- 1 medium cucumber, peeled and chunked, a few dice reserved for garnish
- 1 medium sweet bell pepper, seeded and chunked
- ¼ medium onion, roughly chopped
- 1 clove garlic
From the pantry
- ⅓ cup olive oil — your best bottle — it's half the flavor
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar — sherry vinegar if you have it
- 1 slice crusty bread, crust removed (optional) — the traditional thickener — adds body
- salt — to taste
Steps
tap a step to dim it as you go- Put the tomatoes, cucumber, pepper, onion, garlic, vinegar, a teaspoon of salt, and the bread (if using, soaked a minute in water and squeezed) into a blender. Work in batches if it's tight.
- Blend on high a full 2 minutes, until completely smooth — longer than feels necessary. The long blend is what makes gazpacho silky instead of salsa-like.
- With the blender running, stream in the olive oil so it emulsifies; the soup will lighten to a pale orange-red and turn creamy.
- Taste and correct: it usually wants more salt and another splash of vinegar than you expect, since chilling mutes both. Strain through a coarse sieve if you want it restaurant-smooth.
- Refrigerate at least 2 hours until properly cold. Serve in bowls or glasses with the reserved diced cucumber and a thread of olive oil on top.