Gazpacho undoubtedly belongs to the Spanish summer, and along with paella, is one of the most famous Spanish dishes. This is also the reason why there are so many creative gazpacho recipes. We, on the other hand, think the best recipe is the authentic Andalusian gazpacho recipe and would like to share this recipe with you today.

Gazpacho is very easy to prepare. However, a special attention should be paid to the selection of ingredients. There is a reason why gazpacho is the most popular in summer. Only in summer can you get tomatoes that are fully ripe and have a pleasantly sweet taste. 

The most suitable variety of tomatoes for gazpacho are the so-called "tomates de pera". These are oval barrel tomatoes, which are often used in Italian cuisine ( eg. San Marzano and Roma VF tomatoes). When choosing your ingredients, don't forget that all vegetables must be ripe. Therefore, use ripe round tomatoes rather than unripe oval ones.

INGREDIENTS

Serves 4

(for 1.5l soup)

1.5 kg of ripe tomatoes (preferably oval, oblong tomatoes)

1 fleshy red pepper

2 non-fleshy green peppers

2 small salad cucumbers

1/2 medium onion

1/2 clove of garlic

100 ml olive oil

2 tablespoons wine vinegar (preferably vinagre de jerez)

1 teaspoon salt

METHOD

1. Prepare a large deep bowl or a pot.
2. Roughly chop all the vegetables and place in the pot.
3. Slice the garlic thinly, and add to the rest of the vegetables.
4. Add the olive oil, vinegar and salt. 
5. Mix everything well with a stick mixer. Gazpacho should have a creamy consistency at this time. If it's too watery, you can add a slice of white baguette (and mix it). Taste the gazpacho and fine-tune with salt, olive oil and vinegar to taste. If you are in a hurry, you can finish at this step and nothing terrible will happen. 
6. The right gazpacho should be completely smooth, so sift the mixture through a sieve or colander.
7. Put the gazpacho in the fridge and let it cool for at least two hours before serving.

   In Spain and elsewhere, you may often find that gazpacho is diluted with water or served with ice when served. Both things are wrong because they take away the intense tomato flavour gazpacho is known for.

The amount of vegetables used is indicative. You can experiment slightly with each ratio. The resulting taste and amount of gazpacho depends on the juiciness and ripeness off the fruit. When experimenting, pay a special attention to onions and garlic. Both ingredients tend to "linger"  in the fridge and then usurp the resulting gazpacho flavour.

Avoid adding tomato puree in the gazpacho or "softening" it with cream. The taste of the puree will spoil the fresh taste of fresh vegetables. The same goes for cream. 

BUEN PROVECHO!

See more recipes on JAMON.CO.UK BLOG