Gazpacho is a cold soup with various ingredients such as olive oil, vinegar, water, raw vegetables, usually tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, onions and garlic. There are old versions that add bean flour, bitter oranges or almonds to the main ingredients. and they do not include tomato, which was not used among its ingredients until the colonization of America.
It is usually served cool in the hot summer months. Its color varies from pale orange to red, depending on whether more or less ripe tomatoes are used (which provide a natural coloring called lycopene). The origin of the current gazpacho is uncertain, although it has traditionally been considered a dish from the interior of Andalusia. where olive oil and garden products are abundant, and summers are very dry and hot, for this reason it is commonly known as Andalusian gazpacho. Despite this, the origin of gazpacho as a “crumbled” dish predates the use of vegetables in its preparation and dates from the time of al-Andalus.
The largest gazpacho in the world was made in the city of Almería, Spain, by the company Unica Group, on June 10, 2019. Specifically, 9,800 liters of gazpacho were prepared, using 6,000 kilos of tomatoes, 300 kilos of red pepper, 200 kilos of onion, 200 kilos of cucumber, 1400 liters of water, 550 liters of virgin olive oil and 350 kilos of ice. This feat helped the city of Almería to set another record in the Guinness Book of Records. It is worth mentioning that 18,252 euros were raised thanks to the more than 10,000 people who gathered at the event, all this money being allocated to the Association of Children with Disabilities of Almería (ANDA) and the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC).
Let’s prepare a Spanish Gazpacho Soup with this great recipe!
Spanish Gazpacho Soup
4
servings30
minutes1
hour30
minutesThis cold soup is popular in the summer, it’s very light and refreshing well in the heat.
We will cook according to the authentic Andalusian gazpacho recipe, from the name of the region of origin of this tomato soup.
Ingredients
Ripe tomatoes – 1 kg
Water – 200 ml
Cucumber – 100 g
Green pepper – 80 g
Sweet onions – 40 g
White bread – 40 g (The bread must be white, yesterday’s and with a crust.)
Olive oil – 6 tablespoons
Wine vinegar – 4 tablespoons
Salt – 8 g
Garlic – 1 clove
Directions
- Fill yesterday’s white bread with water.
- Chop the tomatoes at random to make it easier to grind with a blender.
- We do the same with onions and bell peppers.
- Peel the cucumber and chop it too.
- Clean and chop the garlic clove.
- Add the soaked bread, salt, wine vinegar, olive oil and the rest of the water.
- Grind with a blender until smooth.
- Now we need to strain everything.
- Cover with a lid and send to the refrigerator for at least an hour.
- This Spanish gazpacho is usually garnished with cubes of pepper, onion, tomato and cucumber. It is usually served with croutons.
- Sprinkle a little olive oil on top.
- So our authentic gazpacho is ready!
