Traditional gazpacho recipe
Over on my other food blog, The Perfect Pantry, a reader named Maria left this comment on a post about sherry vinegar (with a recipe for my somewhat unorthodox gazpacho): "Hi, sorry, but this is not really a gazpacho recipe. I know there are many versions of gazpacho but it is definitely never spicy, people in Spain don't eat much spice, and when they do it is never hot sauce. The traditional gazpacho uses tomatoes on the vine in Spain, but in the US they tend to have more acidity so I usually use plum tomatoes. Green pepper, olive oil, sherry vinegar, salt, leftover bread and a clove or two of garlic. Some people add onion and cucumber but v8? Also it is completely blended so it ends up being as smooth as possible. The recipe you wrote sounds good but I think the traditional one is so simple, it's worth doing." I asked Maria for her recipe, which she gladly shared. Light, refreshing, tangy but not spicy. We loved it! Muchas gracias, Maria.
Traditional gazpacho
Maria's recipe serves 6.
Ingredients
10 plum tomatoes, seeds removed, roughly chopped
1 green pepper, seeds and ribs removed, diced
1-2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 slice leftover (stale) bread, any type, torn into pieces
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp sherry vinegar
Kosher salt
Chopped cucumber, hard boiled egg, tomato, green pepper, croutons: for garnish
Directions
In a blender, add the tomatoes, green pepper, and garlic. Process for a few seconds. Then, add remaining ingredients, and process until completely smooth.
Garnish with your choice of garnishes, and drizzle with a tiny bit of extra virgin olive oil in each individual bowl.
Sounds good, but now I think all my gazpacho recipes are not really gazpacho!
How interesting! I had no idea. Readers are such a great educational source, not to mention recipes. :-) I'd love to try this!
Kalyn, I know my gazpacho recipes are not all authentic! I love getting recipes from readers, especially when they are as delicious as this soup.
Shirley, please do try it, right now, in tomato season. So good.
I would like to try to make this with Gluten free bread... I know the soup is supposed to have stale bread blended in, but can anyone think of why gluten free might ruin it?
Jane, I can't think of a reason why the gluten-free bread wouldn't work, so please try it, and let us know.