Spanish Gazpacho — Cold Tomato Soup
Gazpacho is never cooked — everything goes in raw, blends, and chills for two hours. The stale bread isn't filler: it's what gives the soup its creamy body and stops it separating into water and pulp.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- —
- Total
- 15 min
- Calories
- 160
Gazpacho comes from Andalusia, and it's Spain's answer to the heat. A cold soup made with no heat at all — all you need is ripe summer vegetables and a blender. One rule matters above the rest: the tomatoes must be at their peak, because no cooking can rescue a dull one.
Method
-
1
Soak the bread
Soak the stale bread in a little water or in the tomato juice for 10 minutes until completely soft.
-
2
Blend
Put the tomatoes, cucumber, pepper, garlic and soaked bread in a blender and run it on high for two minutes until perfectly smooth.
-
3
Emulsify
With the blender running, pour in the olive oil slowly in a thin stream — this emulsifies the soup, lightening its colour and making it creamy.
-
4
Season
Add the vinegar and salt and taste. Gazpacho needs more salt and acid than you'd expect, because cold mutes flavour.
-
5
Strain (optional)
For a restaurant-smooth texture, push it through a fine sieve with the back of a spoon.
-
6
Chill
Refrigerate for at least two hours. Room-temperature gazpacho isn't gazpacho.
-
7
Serve
Taste again once cold and adjust the salt, then serve in chilled bowls topped with the diced cucumber, pepper and croutons.
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Tips that actually matter
- The tomatoes are everything. Out of season, add a spoon of tomato paste and a pinch of sugar.
- Stale bread is the body of the soup. Without it, it separates into water on top and pulp beneath.
- Pour the oil in slowly with the blender running — that emulsion is what gives the pale orange colour.
- Taste after chilling, not before. Cold closes down flavour, so it needs more salt than it seems.
People also ask
Can I leave out the bread?
You can, and it'll be lighter and gluten-free, but the texture turns juice-like and separates quickly. Alternative: a quarter cup of ground blanched almonds.
How long does it keep?
Three days in a sealed jar, and the flavour improves on the second day. Shake or stir before serving.
How is it different from salmorejo?
Salmorejo is much thicker — more bread, more oil, no cucumber or pepper — and is served as a dip or starter rather than a soup.
Cook mode
Spanish Gazpacho — Cold Tomato Soup
-
1
Soak the bread
Soak the stale bread in a little water or in the tomato juice for 10 minutes until completely soft.
-
2
Blend
Put the tomatoes, cucumber, pepper, garlic and soaked bread in a blender and run it on high for two minutes until perfectly smooth.
-
3
Emulsify
With the blender running, pour in the olive oil slowly in a thin stream — this emulsifies the soup, lightening its colour and making it creamy.
-
4
Season
Add the vinegar and salt and taste. Gazpacho needs more salt and acid than you'd expect, because cold mutes flavour.
-
5
Strain (optional)
For a restaurant-smooth texture, push it through a fine sieve with the back of a spoon.
-
6
Chill
Refrigerate for at least two hours. Room-temperature gazpacho isn't gazpacho.
-
7
Serve
Taste again once cold and adjust the salt, then serve in chilled bowls topped with the diced cucumber, pepper and croutons.
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