Description
A quick and easy recipe for Gazpacho, a chilled, no-cook, Spanish soup highlighting ripe and juicy summer tomatoes. Vegan and gluten-free with two variations: Chunky Gazpacho (my favorite) or Smooth Gazpacho. Allow more time for the chunky gazpacho as there is more chopping involved.
Ingredients
- 1 cup celery, sliced (2 celery stalks, sliced)
- 1 cup water
- ——
- 2 lb tomatoes (juicy ripe tomatoes: cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, yellow tomatoes, heirlooms or romas)
- 1 red bell pepper (or sub yellow),
- 8 ounces cucumbers, peeled into strips (4 Turkish, or about 3 1/2 cups) use thin-skinned like English, Persian, Turkish, etc.) see notes
- 1/3 cup red onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2–3 teaspoons red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt, more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon piment d’espelette (or cayenne or sweet paprika),
- 1/4 teaspoon coriander
- 1/2 cup fresh herbs, finely chopped ( 1/4 cup Italian parsley, 1/4 cup basil, mint, cilantro or dill)
- optional: 1 tablespoon tomato paste (for sweetness)
- optional: 1-2 slices soaked bread (see notes)
Instructions
Chunky Gazpacho:
- Blend celery and water in a blender. Strain, reserving the celery juice. ( FYI: I’ve tried adding the pulp to the gazpacho and do NOT recommend it.)
- Rough chop HALF of the tomatoes, half of the cucumbers, half of the bell pepper, half of the onion, and both garlic cloves and add these to the blender with the celery juice and pulse repeatedly until uniformly chopped but not too smooth. If adding tomato paste ( for more sweetness) or soaked bread, add this now, and pulse a couple times.
- Finely dice the remaining tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, and onion and add to the gazpacho. Stir in the vinegar and salt (start light), pepper, spices and chopped herbs. Taste and adjust salt and vinegar.
- Serve chilled with a drizzle of olive oil, optional avocado, etc. Feel free to garnish with finely chopped cucumber, red onion, cherry tomatoes, avocado, a finely diced fennel bulb, microgreens, croutons.
Smooth Gazpacho:
- Blend celery and water in a blender. Strain, reserving the celery juice. ( FYI: I’ve tried adding the pulp to the gazpacho and do NOT recommend it.)
- Place all the tomatoes (halved), cucumbers (peeled into strips, cut into chunks), bell pepper (cut into chunks), onion (chunks) , garlic, and celery juice in the blender. Blend until smooth.
- With the blender motor running, slowly pour in the oil and blend until smooth, creamy, glossy and emulsified. Add the vinegar, salt , black pepper, spices. If your gazpacho lacks sweetness, add tomato paste. Adjust salt and vinegar and spice level to taste.
- Once you like the taste, pulse in the fresh herbs (or finely chop and add them) and be careful not to over blend the herbs- or you will lose that lovely color!
- Chill until serving.
- Garnish with toppings: finely diced cucumber, red onion, cherry tomatoes, avocado, finely diced fennel bulb, microgreens, croutons.
Notes
The celery juice provides a beautiful backbone to the gazpacho. To elevate even further: try adding a few slices of fennel bulb along with the celery when making the celery juice. (Celery Fennel Juice) Garnish with a little tarragon. 😉 Delish!
Soaked Bread: Day-old bread, soaked in water for 15 minutes, then gently rung out, is often added to gazpacho (while blending) which gives the soup a nice texture. Feel free to add if you like. For a GF option add a couple of tablespoons almond flour or hemp seeds which mimic the mouth feel of the bread nicely.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 110
- Sugar: 7.6 g
- Sodium: 498.9 mg
- Fat: 6.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 13.1 g
- Fiber: 3.9 g
- Protein: 2.8 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg