The sun is up early morning and leaving after 7pm.
The temperature rises and your house becomes an oven from 9-6.
Somehow I feel like there’s ice cream everywhere I turn.
Yup, It’s still summer people.
Even though we’re in the last bits of it, this doesn’t mean we need to start piling up for the Fall. We can still enjoy the marvelous things that come along with summer’s tail.
Things like tomatoes.
A whole bunch of tomatoes.
The peak of summer means tomatoes of all colors are everywhere. I know you have a bunch lying around there somewhere! Maybe too much. But they’re so flavorful you wouldn’t want to waste them away, like some people in Spain do for La Tomatina, right?
Here’s the answer to tomato overload + hot summery nights:
Fresh, delicious traditional gazpacho.
Now, before you see the recipe, I might say there is a “Message to Humanity” in the video that might spark a debate. This it it:
I made the traditional gazpacho recipe people from the Andalusia region in Spain (where it all started) know by heart. If the same Spaniards tasted any of the weird things that are named “gazpacho” these days around the web they would probably wish those dishes a cruel, slow death.
Why so dramatic? I’m not Spanish, but I lived in Spain for four years and I can put myself in a typical Spaniard’s shoes and yes: it would bother me to see my favorite summer soup being transformed and reduced to a yucky salsa-like thing. I think this happens because people think “gazpacho” might just be the Spanish translation for “cold soup”… when it’s not. It’s not a salsa, it’s not pico de gallo, it’s not a smoothie (Slate agrees with me even though they put almonds and jalapeño in theirs).
I mean, can you spot the differences?!?!
vs 
SERIOUSLY?!
A word for the classy adventurers: There are some who have tried to make neo-gazpacho recipes with style, like this one that does it out of a cantaloupe, or this watermelon gazpacho. It sounds as if it tastes amazing, but I’m still hesitant….
Now with this I’m not against experimenting (heck I’ve made avocado brownies!), but I just wouldn’t call a burger a sandwich (let’s not start another debate, but they’re different). I think my middle ground would be that if you want to name your dish only “gazpacho”, you should be thinking about the traditional recipe. If you are adding more than the normal ingredients, please add that to your title, and help prevent Spanish heart attacks.
My advice for experimenting and still call it “gazpacho”? Using any of these fresh definite ingredients in different quantities. There’s still a world a possibilities in them!
One last tip: remember to remove the germ from your garlic cloves. I would never bother for cooking, but since this recipe uses it raw, if you don’t remove it will add a bitter/spicy flavor, and you wouldn’t want that…right? Or maybe you do, so just don’t listen to me. But don’t tell me I didn’t warn ya!
You can find all the ingredients and the step-by-step recipe below.
Please be aware that our video on this recipe was one of our first ones.
Traditional Gazpacho Recipe
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 3 ripe tomatoes, diced in fourths
- ½ cucumber, seeded and diced
- 3 garlic cloves, without the germ
- ¼ of a white onion, diced
- ½ green pepper, seeded and diced
- ½ red pepper, seeded and diced
- 2 tbsps of olive oil
- Salt, to taste
- 1 tbsp of white wine vinegar
- 1 slice of white bread (or equivalent in baguette bread), no crusts
- ½ cup of water
To decorate
- 1 hard-boiled egg, chopped
- Croutons
Alternative toppings
- ½ green pepper, seeded and diced
- ¼ of white onion, diced
- 2 slices of Serrano ham, chopped
Instructions
- Chop your tomatoes into fourths and put them in the blender.
- Slice your onions into big pieces and add them to the mix. If your blender looks too crowded, you can start blending to make some room.
- Peel your cucumber, seed it with a spoon, and chop it into pieces.
- Cut your red and green peppers into large pieces, and seed them.
- Before adding the garlic, remove the germ. If you leave it, it will bring a bitter and spicy taste to the mix.
- To add consistency to the gazpacho, mix in a little bit of bread. You can use white loaf bread or a baguette type of bread. But for both, you need to remove the crust.
- Blend your veggies with olive oil, white wine vinegar, water, and a couple of pinches of salt.
- Blend thoroughly until the mix looks smooth without any large chunks but not completely liquid.
- Let it rest in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.
- You can decorate your gazpacho with Serrano ham, croutons, diced onions, peppers, or a hard-boiled egg. I like to add croutons, as they add crispy chunks to the mix. Additionally, they absorb some of the rich taste from the gazpacho.
- Serve and enjoy!
Video
Notes
If you liked this Traditional Gazpacho recipe, you might like some of my other recipes too. You can check them here.
And remember, if you try this recipe and want to share your pictures, remember to tag me @lacooquette on Instagram. I’d love to share your pictures on my IG stories.
Note: We published this recipe first on August 29, 2014.
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