Gazpacho is a chilled Spanish tomato based soup from the south of Andalucía and is a refreshing alternative to hot soup during the summer months. Another way to think of gazpacho is as a liquid salad rather than soup. The most likely origin of the word ‘gazpacho’ is that it is derived from the pre-Roman Mozarab word ‘caspa’, meaning ‘residue’ or ‘fragments’, which could means the pieces of vegetables in the soup. The history of the soup itself has been lost in time, but there are clues that it may have arrived in Spain via the Moors and that there may have been Roman influence.
Andalucían gazpacho typically contains tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, onion, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, salt and stale bread, but since it spread to other parts of Spain and the world, especially Portugal and Mexico, there are variations without tomatoes, but containing other vegetables such as avocados, chillies, grapes, and watermelon as well as seafood and stock, to name a few.
Spicy gazpacho was one of the first things I made when coming to the US, because the tomatoes were so fresh, Hatch chillies were just in season and I needed something to cool down with. However I had lost the recipe and it wasn’t until last week when I made a Mexican Gazpacho that I found the original recipe. Doh! Anyway here are both recipes. They are both equally tasty and refreshing, but completely different in character.
Mexican Gazpacho
Mexican Gazpacho
Ingredients
- 0.5 cups (120ml) of water
- 1.5 lbs (680g) of chopped ripe tomatoes
- 1 medium finely chopped white onion
- 075 lbs (340g) fresh tomatillos
- 2 chopped serrano chiles (remove ribs and seeds if you want less heat)
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Cilantro (fresh coriander ) and / or chopped avocado for garnish
Method
Place the water, garlic, chillies, half the tomatoes, half the tomatillos and half the onion into a food processor and purée until very smooth. Add water if required. Put the remaining ingredients into the food processor and blend until mixed, but still chunky. Chill the soup for a couple of hours in the refrigerator, and then garnish with cilantro (fresh coriander) and / or chopped avocado to serve. Enjoy with some crusty bread.
Hatch Chilli Gazpacho
Hatch Chilli Gazpacho
Ingredients
- 2 Hatch chillies
- 1 large skinned tomato
- 1 small seedless, skinned cucumber
- 1 green onion (spring onion)
- 1 clove of garlic
- Juice of a small lime
- 1 tbsp of olive oil
- 1 tbsp of tomato paste
- 1 cup (240ml) of chicken stock
- 1 tsp of smoked paprika
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Cilantro (fresh coriander) and / or slices of Hatch chillies for garnish
Method
Put all the ingredients into a food processor and purée until very smooth. Chill the soup in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. Serve the soup with ice cubes and garnish with cilantro (fresh coriander) and / or slices of Hatch chillies. Enjoy with crusty bread.
Note: that there are two types of Hatch chillies, hot and mild or you could substitute for Poblano (mild) or Anaheim (hot) chillies instead.