Classic Andalusian Gazpacho Recipes

Steps:

• Fill a 6-quart pot halfway full of water, set over high heat and bring to a boil.
• Make an X with a paring knife on the bottom of the tomatoes. Drop the tomatoes into the boiling water for 15 seconds, remove and transfer to an ice bath and allow to cool until able to handle, approximately 1 minute. Remove and pat dry. Peel, core and seed the tomatoes. When seeding the tomatoes, place the seeds and pulp into a fine mesh strainer set over a bowl in order to catch the juice. Press as much of the juice through as possible and then add enough bottled tomato juice to bring the total to 1 cup.
• Place the tomatoes and juice into a large mixing bowl. Add the cucumber, bell pepper, red onion, jalapeno, garlic clove, olive oil, lime juice, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire, cumin, salt and pepper and stir to combine. Transfer 1 1/2 cups of the mixture to a blender and puree for 15 to 20 seconds on high speed. Return the pureed mixture to the bowl and stir to combine. Cover and chill for 2 hours and up to overnight. Serve with chiffonade of basil.

Steps:

• Soak bread in 1/2 cup water 1 minute, then squeeze dry, discarding soaking water.
• Mash garlic to a paste with salt using a mortar and pestle (or mince and mash with a large knife). Blend garlic paste, bread, 2 tablespoons vinegar, sugar, cumin, and half of tomatoes in a food processor until tomatoes are very finely chopped. Add remaining tomatoes with motor running and, when very finely chopped, gradually add oil in a slow stream, blending until as smooth as possible, about 1 minute.
• Force soup through a sieve into a bowl, pressing firmly on solids. Discard solids.
• Transfer to a glass container and chill, covered, until cold, about 3 hours. Season with salt and vinegar before serving.

Steps:

• Rinse well the tomatoes,take off the stems.
• Peel the garlic clove.
• Peel the onion, chop in 3-4 pieces.
• Rinse the pepper, get rid of any single seed, chop coarsely.
• Peel well the cucumber, no green left.
• Place the piece of bread in a bowl with water in order to soak it. Once soaked, put all water away, squeeze the soaked bread with your bare hands as much as you can and set aside.
• In a good blender or food processor (I have a German marvel called Thermomix) put the tomatoes (previously cut in 4-5 pieces each), the garlic, onion, pepper, cucumber, squeezed bread. Add remaining ingredients and crush all up at the highest speed and power your machine can work. No temperature please! Go on until no minimum little piece of anything can be noticed when you try the gazpacho. It must be creamy and with some consistency, not watery like. Pour it in a jar or bowl and let it chill in your fridge. The chilliest the better. Do not freeze! Serve it in bowls as a first course for any meal.
• Notes:.
• Always try the cucumber before adding it. If it is sour, your gazpacho will be ruined.
• For the best results, use Spanish (from Spain, Europe) olive oil. Italian could suit, but believe me ours is much better, though not so well known.
• Keeps well in fridge for a week, guess it won't last you a day, so good it is!

Steps:

• In a food processor or blender puree tomatoes, onions, garlic, cucumber, red pepper, bread, olive oil and vinegar until very smooth, 2 minutes or more. Refrigerate several hours.
• Before serving, season with salt and pepper and strain through a sieve if desired. Thin with ice water if needed. Divide among 6 soup bowls and offer choice of garnishes.

Steps:

• Soak the bread slices. Place in a bowl with water to cover, adding a little salt and oil. Reserve.
• Peel and chop tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, onion and garlic. Remove the seeds from the peppers. Mix all ingredients.
• In electric mixer, place the mixture of ingredients (in a batch or batches), add a little water and blend until creamy. Add the bread with water, vinegar and beat again until everything is well crushed and emulsified.
• Add cold water and mix well. Taste for salt, oil and vinegar.
• Put the gazpacho through a food mill to remove skin from peppers and tomato seeds. By having blended with the skin, (it is very difficult to peel them raw, without taking half of the pepper), it floats on the soup and is very unpleasant to the palate.
• Add more water if necessary, it must have the texture of heavy cream. Place in the refrigerator to get the desired temperature and when ready to serve sprinkle with a dash of extra virgin olive oil, mixing with a wooden spoon.
• Serve with a garnish of diced raw cucumber, cubes of bread (plain or toasted), diced pepper and chopped onion. You can add chopped tomato, chopped hard boiled egg or diced jamon serrano if you would like. Each item should be in a separate dish so that diners can use them to their liking. This is called "guarnición".
• SPANISH VERSION: GAZPACHO. 6 tomates maduros grandes y carnosos, 2 pimientos verde, 1 pimiento rojo, 1 pepino, 1 corazón de cebolla grande, 1 diente de ajo (opcional), 2 rebanadas de pan del día anterior sin la corteza, sal, aceite de oliva virgen extra, vinagre
• Preparación: Poner a remojo las rebanadas de pan. Se colocan en un cuenco con agua hasta cubrirlas, añadiéndoles un poco de sal y aceite. Se reservan. Pelar y trocear los tomates, los pimientos, el pepino, la cebolla y el ajo. A los pimientos se les quita las semillas. Mezcle todos los ingredientes. En la batidora eléctrica, coloque la mezcla de ingredientes (en una tanda o en varias tandas), añada un poco de agua y triture hasta conseguir una crema. Se añade el pan con el agua, el vinagre y se bate nuevamente hasta conseguir que todo esté bien triturado y emulsionado.
• Añadir agua fría y mezclar bien. Comprobar el punto de sal y vinagre. Pasarlo por un colador chino o un pasapurés, para eliminar la piel de pimiento. Al haberlos triturado con piel, (es muy difícil pelarlos en crudo, sin llevarse la mitad del pimiento), ésta queda flotando y es muy desagradable al paladar. Añadir más agua si fuera necesario, tiene que quedar una textura de crema líquida. Introducirlo en la nevera hasta conseguir la temperatura deseada y en el momento de servir rociar con un chorrito de aceite de oliva virgen extra, que mezclaremos con una cuchara de madera. Se sirve con una guarnición de pepino crudo cortado en dados, cuadraditos de pan (normal o tostado), pimiento cortado en cuadraditos y cebolla picada. Cada elemento en un platito aparte para que los comensales puedan servirse a su gusto.