gazpacho recipe or secrets?

[gonefishin]

Hi guys and gals,

I was wondering if anyone had any good gazpacho recipes or secrets that they could share?

Thanks a bunch,
dan

[kent2981]

hi gonefishin

when i was at culinary school, my chef gave us a great recipe, but even better advice, mix it up a bit and magic can happen, basically, in my gazpacho, i sweat onions, roast red peppers, get some good FRESH tomatoes and a lot of good cukes, and a great "secret" is a dash or three of tabasco, it gives the right pepper flavor, throw it in a blender and strain, maybe a little cilantro or basil for a garish or right in it, i say experiment and make it your own



peace

[Nentony]

2lb plum tomatos, 1/2 lb cuke, 1/2 green bell pep- about 4oz, 1 garlic clove, 2or3 tbls sherry vinegar, 1/2 cup e.v.olive oil, 1or 2 tsp salt, water.

rough chop tomatos, cuke and bell pepper, put in blender with garlic, salt and 2 tbls vinegar, 1/2 cup water, blend. add in olive oil and blend again. chill.

You can strain it if you like before chilling. I don't, I like it hearty. I also like to add a few small chunks of bread in before blending, it thickens it and mellows the taste some.

This was originally a recipe I got from a Jose Andres tapas cookbook, it just changed a little along the way.

Tony

[lentil]

I can't even post mine; it contains canned tomato juice! I'll have to try one of yours, though.

[ChefRob]

Gonefishin,

Try this one, as it has worked for me and I have used it alot this summer in the cooking classes that I teach,

http://agreatchef.com/gazpacho-soup.html

Good luck and I hope you enjoy this recipe!

ChefRob

[gonefishin]

Looks like I've got a few recipes to try

Should be fun...

Thanks!
dan

[Pinot]

I think tomato quality and ripeness is paramount. In many places home grown would be the only viable option.

NOT cooking the tomato pulp (like some recipes do) is important , but you can cook the other ingredients first if you like and I tend to- e.g onion , leek , peppers etc.

This is a great thing to use your very best olive oil and balsmaic vinegars on.

[stuart]

when your making gazpacho add in some fresh pineapple adds really good flavour and sweetnes to the soup

[SushiGaijin]

I wouldn't necessarily subject my own gaspacho to it, but i've seen the "mexican food secret" added before, and it really wasn't bad.


(dried oregano)


Erik.

[siduri]

I've seen some recipes with beef broth and breadcrumbs. I thought it tasted very good that way.

[Suzanne]

There's gazpacho . . . and gazpacho. By that I mean that there are about as many kinds as there are people who make it. And the version with tomatoes is only one of many. To me, the "secret" is to keep it as simple as possible and use the best seasonal produce. And I like to leave it chunky.

When I get a craving for it before tomatoes are in season, I chop up mild onion and lots of garlic and puree them in the blender with tomato juice (or even better, the spicy version of V8; see, lentil, you're not alone ). Then I mix that with finely chopped cucumber, bell peppers (any color), sherry vinegar, a little hot sauce such as Tabasco, and a good strong olive oil. Chill. Season with salt and pepper and adjust the spiciness just before serving. Sometimes I add a dollop of unflavored yogurt to each serving (this is especially good if I made it a little too spicy ). You could add croutons, but I don't usually.

When tomatoes are in, I seed a few, puree them with the onion and garlic, then seed and dice a few more to add with the cucumber and peppers etc.

A couple of weeks ago I had a version in which cantaloupe was substituted for the tomatoes, and chipotles were used for spiciness. That was great!

And then, of course, there is white gazpacho -- no tomato at all. Blanched almonds, crustless white bread (has to be really good, no Wonderbread!), garlic, and wine vinegar are pureed with ice water. The garnish is seedless green grapes (some prefer them peeled). (I also have a version that used roasted blanched hazelnuts.)

Another white gazpacho uses cucumbers, green bell peppers, bread, garlic, egg, oil, and wine vinegar, all pureed together, then strained, and the liquid thinned with ice water. More cucumber and green pepper for garnish. You could use a light chicken stock instead of the water.

[shroomgirl]

I peel and seed fresh ripe tomatoes....

Take 2/3 of them and puree in a blender with basalmic or red wine viniager
mince garlic
finely chop red onion, red bell pepper or fresh pimento
chop summer squash, cuke (seedless or burbless preferred), the remaining tomatoes
salt and pepper, cumin (optional), green onions, fresh Italian parsley

Mix, then add in prior to eating (optional) avacado, shrimp/crab. Drizzle of good olive oil.

Dash of heat or a minced red jalepino or serrano

I serve it with toasted sourdough or country wheat artisan bread.