During a visit in the south of Spain, the Kitchen Shrink fell in love with the traditional Andalusian chilled veggie soup the locals called Gazpacho. This liquid salad mélange of ripe tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, garlic and chunks of bread sopping with extra virgin olive oil and vinegar serve chilled is southern Spain’s signature soup which probably originated when the country belonged to the Islamic world in the Middle Ages. Gazpacho then called “ajo blanco” was a blend of almonds, garlic, bread, olive oil and vinegar. Today some regional variations of gazpacho contain almonds without tomatoes and peppers, which were added to gazpacho mix after Columbus brought them back to Spain. Eugenia de Montijo, the wife of Napolean III, emperor of France was credited with popularizing gazpacho throughout Spain.
It is thought the word “gazpacho” is derived from the Hebrew “gazaz” which means “break into pieces” referring to the chunks of bread used as a base for the soup. Originally this was considered poor man’s food of bread, water and oils blended into a paste and served to the workers in the vineyards, groves and fields.
The traditional version is prepared in a mortar with the vegetables and stale bread, a week old is perfect, pureed to a paste then the olive oil and vinegar added and tweaked until the taste is right. The tomatoes are usually peeled and strained to remove any seeds. Today gazpacho has infused into the American cuisine and has evolved into many chefs’ creative combinations and permutations.
Serves 6 (recipe lends itself to improvization–or (JAZZ) style of cooking)
- 4 large ripe tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 English cucumber, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
- 1 sweet red pepper, seeded and finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, finely diced
- ½ red onion, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon of Tabasco sauce
- 2 cups of fresh or canned tomato or vegetable juice
- 1 cup of finely chopped celery (optional)
- ½ cup of fresh orange juice
- 1 tablespoon of fresh lime juice
- 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar
- 2 ripe but firm avocados, cut in coarse chunks or cubes
- Salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste
- Fresh cilantro sprigs and lime slices for garnish
COMBINE the ingredients except the avocado, cilantro and lime slices in a large glass or ceramic bowl and stir gently. Chill for 2 hours in the refrigerator. Ladle into ceramic bowls or libation glasses and garnish with avocado, cilantro sprigs and lime slices. Cheers!