Cuisine from Spain podcast no. 8 - Gazpacho
by Ben Curtis
As the temperatures rise in Madrid, Marina decides it’s time for that summer classic, Gazpacho!
Ingredients (4 people)
1 Kg of Ripe Tomatoes
1 Italian Green Pepper
1 Cucumber
1 Medium Onion
1 Medium Garlic Clove
1 Slice of bread
1 Small glass of water (Wine size)
1 Teaspoon of salt
2 Dessert spoons of Vinegar
6 Dessert spoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Preparation
Place all the tomatoes (except one), cut into quarters, in the blender, with a slice about 5 cm wide of green pepper, a slice about 5 cm wide of peeled cucumber, half of the onion and the garlic. Then blend for 5 minutes or until the mixture is completely smooth. Then add the water and salt and mix again. Taste to check that the salt is ok, then add the vinegar and mix again. Finally when the vinegar level is ok, add the olive oil and mix in at a slow setting until it mixes in completely.
Let it cool in the fridge for a few hours before serving. It can be served either as a drink in a glass or as a starter in a bowl with garnish or “pispirris”. To prepare the pispirris cut the tomato, the remaining green pepper and cucumber, half an onion and a slice of bread into very small cubes then place each in a separate bowl. Take these bowls to the table in a tray and let each person choose what they want to add to their own Gazpacho.
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Posted: May 29th, 2006 under Cuisine from Spain Podcast, Spanish Food and Drink.
Comments: 18
Comments
Comment from Tim
Time: May 30, 2006, 1:36 pm
Thanks so much for this and your other podcasts. You always make the food sound so delicious!
Comment from Marina
Time: May 31, 2006, 7:30 am
Thanks Tim!!! It is not difficult with Gazpacho, as it is one of my favourites summer dishes plus it is a very healthy one. If you ever get to prepare this recipie let us know how it goes….
Comment from Tim
Time: May 31, 2006, 6:07 pm
I’m afraid it might be a while until it’s warm enough here to try it!
Comment from Cody
Time: June 2, 2006, 12:41 pm
Do you add cilantro or is that a matter of personal taste?
Comment from Marina
Time: June 2, 2006, 8:35 pm
I’ve never tried Gazpacho with cilantro unless it’s a new cuisine thing the classical Gazpacho recipie does not have cilantro.
Comment from Chris form the Amateur Traveler podcast
Time: June 3, 2006, 12:10 am
I did really like well made Gazpacho when we were in Spain, especially when we were in Andalusia in the Summer.
Comment from Jen
Time: June 8, 2006, 6:12 pm
Yumm . . . thank you so much for this recipe — gazpacho is definitely my favorite food. The tips on tasting as you add the water, salt and vinegar and on adding the olive oil last really made it so much better.
Comment from tania
Time: June 8, 2006, 7:09 pm
did you take the seeds out of the tomato? Or did you put the whole tomato in the blender.
Comment from Ben
Time: June 9, 2006, 8:05 am
It all goes in, seeds and all!
Comment from Tim
Time: June 11, 2006, 2:49 pm
We finally had the weather for gazpacho this weekend. It was delicious! Thanks so much for the recipe.
Comment from tania
Time: June 12, 2006, 6:30 pm
Thanks for the response. I did make the gazpacho with seeds and all but my blender must not be as powerfull as yours to break all of the seeds. Even with a bit of seeds it was still wonderful and maybe next time I make it I will buy a mouli so that I can get a smoother consistensy with no seeds. It’s finally feeling like summer so I look forward to keep making Gazpacho.
Gracias Marina y Ben por las magnificas recetas, simples pero muy deliciosas, y gracias por todos los podcast.
Comment from Jen
Time: June 24, 2006, 9:36 pm
Do you happen to know a good recipe for ajoblanco? Thanks!
Comment from Rene Rodriguez
Time: June 27, 2006, 6:07 am
This is one of my favorite dishes. Thanks
Comment from Ben
Time: June 28, 2006, 11:21 pm
I have to do a little bit of research in ajo blanco as I’ve only done it once in the past, then I’ll do podcast on it if you don’t mind waiting a bit.
Comment from Christopher Sorensen
Time: August 2, 2006, 3:56 pm
Greetings from the States. Just to clear up some cucumber issues. In the States the long cucumber goes by many names: English Cucumber, Holland Cucumber, Hothouse Cucumber or as it is usually referred to as a Seedless Cucumber. These have been specically bred not to have seeds (which are difficult to digest and some say they cause gas) and they contain less water. Our regular variety of cucumber should be sufficient. My question is with use of vinegar. When you vinegar I assume you mean white wine vinegar, although I know in Spain sherry vinegar is used a lot, am I correct in assuming this?
Comment from Marina
Time: August 2, 2006, 4:52 pm
Commonly in Spain wine vinager is used. But you also find people that use Sherry vinager or even the Italian balsamic one. For Gazpacho and Salmorejo I like using strong dark wine vinager but with caution as if you use too much it kills the tomato and garlic flavours.
Regarding cucumbers, the Spanish variety is different from the Holland Cucumber which is the one that is mostly used in other European countries. It is shorter, it is light green even a bit yellow if they are too ripe and the skin is rougher.
You can check a pick in the following link.
http://verduras.consumer.es/imagenes/fotografias/pepino/01.jpg
Comment from D. B.
Time: August 5, 2006, 4:35 am
Can you freeze this for use later? Most of the ingredients can be frozen without blanching individually. Just wondered if anyone has tried this?
Comment from Ben
Time: August 6, 2006, 4:13 pm
Sometimes I stick it into the freezer for 1 hour or a bit more so it gets really cold. But I’ve never frozen it completely, so I can’t tell you if it works fine.
However it is so delicious and refreshing that it won’t last more than a day or two and for two days you can keep it perfectly in the fridge.
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