Gazpacho
Make Gazpacho: a chilled, silky tomato soup ready in minutes for bright summer servings.
Ingredients
- 3.5 oz stale white bread (I use 100 grams of a baguette, or about 1/4th of the baguette)
- ¼ cup water
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 2 lb ripe Roma tomatoes
- 1-2 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup chopped red onion
- 1 medium green bell pepper (140g)
- 1 medium cucumber (200g, 1/2lb)
- 3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (50ml)
- 1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 3 Tablespoons water (50ml)
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt (, or more to taste)
- diced onion, tomato, green bell pepper and cucumber
Instructions
Step 1: Soften the bread
Break the stale white bread into small irregular chunks and place them in a small ceramic bowl; drizzle the ¼ cup water and a teaspoon of olive oil over the pieces so they sit visibly damp and softened. Let the soaked bread rest while you move on—this will hydrate the crumb and help the soup emulsify into a silky texture.
Step 2: Prepare the vegetables and aromatics
Wash all vegetables thoroughly. Peel the cucumber if you prefer a brighter, less bitter skin edge and halve it lengthwise, scoop seeds if very watery, then chop into chunks. Quarter the Roma tomatoes and roughly chop the green bell pepper after removing seeds. Peel the garlic, split and remove the small central germ to avoid sharp raw heat, and finely chop the red onion. Keep a small bowl of reserved diced tomato, cucumber, bell pepper and onion aside for garnish.
Step 3: Blend into a smooth purée
In a high-powered blender add the soaked bread (squeezed slightly), tomatoes, garlic, chopped onion, bell pepper, cucumber, 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, and 3 tablespoons water. Blend at high speed until completely smooth and homogenous—no fibrous strands, little to no visible seeds, the color a warm reddish-pink, the texture glossy and velvety. Taste and adjust salt or vinegar to balance brightness.
Step 4: Strain for an ultra-silky finish (optional)
Pour the blended mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a deep matte bowl or pitcher, pressing gently with a ladle to extract the smoothest liquid and leave behind any coarse seeds or peel. If you prefer a thicker, rustic gazpacho you can skip straining; otherwise this step yields a glassy, spoonable clarity and much cleaner mouthfeel.
Step 5: Chill and marry the flavors
Transfer the strained gazpacho to a covered vessel and refrigerate for a few hours so the temperature drops and the flavors round out. The cold temperature tightens the color and amplifies the refreshing texture—silken and cool on the palate.
Step 6: Serve cold with crisp diced garnish
Ladle the chilled gazpacho into shallow soup bowls and finish each bowl with a neat nest of the reserved diced tomato, cucumber, green bell pepper and red onion, a glossy drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, and a light sprinkle of fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve immediately while the soup is perfectly cold and silky.
Notes
- Use the ripest tomatoes you can find for the best flavor.
- If soup is too thick after chilling, thin with cold water or olive oil and whisk.
- Refrigerate in an airtight container and consume within 3 days.
- Use a high-quality extra virgin olive oil; it noticeably improves the finish.
- For a smoother texture, strain the soup through a fine-mesh sieve.