Thursday, July 26, 2012

Gazpacho


Hot weather calls for cold soup! Not really, I like soup any time, hot or cold. I've had gazpacho before but not like this one. I saw it in this month's Fine Cooking and it looked so good, so creamy, I had to try it.

I didn't notice that the recipe said a pinch or two of cumin, so I added about 2 teaspoons. Fresh cilantro isn't big around here so I added some ground coriander and threw in some ancho chili for good measure. Used more bread than was called for and didn't notice about trimming the crust for croutons. Didn't notice the croutons were burning until it was a tad too late. They were still good. Extra flavor :)

It turns out the family is not so keen on cold soup. My husband thought it tasted like a creamy salad dressing. The kids and their friends gave it an "okay" but I really loved it. Loved. And it's easy enough to make some just for myself.

The flavor was so good. I think my family just assumes that soup should be hot. I'm always in a rush when I serve so you'd think they'd be used to cold soup. Or maybe the fact that this was intentionally cold soup. They'd have been happier with the usual lukewarm. ah well, more for me. 

Today's lunch!

See how creamy it looks? But no cream at all.





Gazpacho

1-3/4 lb. ripe tomatoes, cored and coarsely chopped (about 5 cups)
1/2 medium green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and coarsely chopped (3/4 cup)
1/2 small red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and coarsely chopped (1/2 cup)
1/2 cup packed torn fresh bread, such as a soft baguette, Portuguese roll, or thick white sandwich bread, plus enough for 1/4 cup of 1/2-inch cubes for croutons. I used a soft Italian bread
9 tablespoons good-quality extra-virgin olive oil; plus more for croutons and drizzling
2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
2 small cloves garlic
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1-2 teaspoons ground cumin (more or less to taste)
1-2 teaspoons ground coriander (more or less to taste)
1 teaspoon ancho chili
optional garnish - chopped cucumbers, red peppers and onions

Put the tomatoes, bell peppers, bread, olive oil, the vinegar, garlic, about a teaspoon salt, pepper, chili, coriander and cumin in a blender. Pulse until coarsely puréed, then blend until very smooth, about 5-6 minutes or more if needed (it may be a bit frothy). Season to taste with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until very cold, at least 1 hour.

Meanwhile, heat about 3 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. When the oil gets hot, add the bread cubes. Cook, stirring frequently, until golden brown all over, about  minute or two. Sprinkle with a little salt. Transfer the croutons to paper towels to drain and cool.

Taste the gazpacho just before serving and adjust the seasonings as needed. Serve cold,  drizzle with oil and garnished with the chopped red pepper, cucumber and the croutons.

Make Ahead: The gazpacho can be made up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated.



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62 comments:

  1. yumm, looks delicious!!1 have a nice day !!!

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  2. Your kitchen adventures sound a lot like mine:@) Looks like a great soup and it's a very pretty color-enjoy!

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  3. I have mixed feelings about cold soup also but something this creamy delicious would give me no pause!

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  4. I love cold soups! It certainly looks creamy, Carol...wish I had some of that in the fridge for lunch today.

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  5. Yummy...soup, hot or cold, always seems to hit the spot!

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  6. I have never had gazpacho but I would certainly give it a try, this recipe looks tasty. I am not a fan of fresh cilantro at all, so I would substitute with dried coriander seed also.

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  7. What a great way to use the luscious ripe tomatoes that are starting to appear in the farmers' market. I know I would love this soup, too, Carol. I had to laugh that your husband thought it was salad dressing.

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  8. It looks so refreshing and delicious!

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  9. I've never had cold soup either, but yours looks really good!

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  10. That's so funny about your family's reaction! But I think I'd agree with you, because it sounds really tasty!

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  11. there's one very popular cold soup in Poland and I love it. I'm excited to find another recipe. Thank you!

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  12. In Madrid we leave out the cumin, coriander and ancho chili as those are things we hardly ever use in any type of cooking but the rest is all in there. One of my fave soups!

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    1. Not so authentic, I think I turned it into a Tex-Mex gazpacho then! It was god though :)

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  13. I've never made gazpacho but love it! A perfect summer dish! I just need some really ripe tomatoes.

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  14. No cream at all! This recipe is brilliant!

    Just realise that you are Twittering... Now following you at Twitter :D

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  15. I love gazpacho, Carol! I've never made it so creamy looking as yours so I'll have to try your recipe when more of my fresh tomatoes ripen.

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  16. PS: Thansk for tweeting my post! :) Good luck in the sweepstakes!

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  17. A perfect cold tomato soup for the summer!

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  18. I haven't had a lot of cold soup before but I'd definitely love to give this a try! :) After all I love all things creamy!!

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  19. Soup looks nice..I like the idea of cold soup...we have only hot soups here... :)

    Do visit my blogs in your spare time-
    ManjuzKitchen.blogspot..in
    AndMyLifeGoesOn.blogspot.in

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  20. I am not sure about cold soup, but this looks delicious. Thanks for sharing on Foodie Friends Friday.
    marlys-thisandthat.blogspot.com

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  21. I am not sure about the whole cold soup thing...

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  22. I've never tried gazpacho, I don't think my family would enjoy cold soup, but yours looks lovely.

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  23. This is a very different gazpacho from the one I usually make, but it looks like it would taste very very good. You can't have enough good gazpacho recipes in the summer with all the ingredients so easily available.

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  24. Wow...what a BEAUTIFUL soup photo. I think I would love it - like you - and my kids would go microwave it or something...barbarians... ;)

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  25. Sounds absolutely delicious! And you know, I've never had cold soup . . . that's pretty bad, isn't it?

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  26. Ha! Love it that we both did gazpacho. I wait all year for tomato season so I can make it. It's a great summer dinner.

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  27. I have never eaten cold soup either. This does look good and would be nice on a hot day!

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  28. Hi Carol - did you mean to link this one in to Weekend Cooking? Or was the title you put in just wrong? Maybe Beth F can fix it up for you.

    I know you did link the Banana won tons into Food on Friday - which was great.

    Hope you are having a good week. I linked in my salmon pizza post to this week's Weekend Cooking.

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    1. Hi Carole, the link to the gazpacho was meant for Weekend Cooking, but the title was wrong. Banana Won Tons was still in my cache when I posted the Gazpacho link. Food on Friday was linked correctly, I'm pretty sure. LOL, I shouldn't post so early in the morning, that's when I usually mess the links up :)

      Your salmon pizza looked great!

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  29. I'm not really one for cold soups, but I will admit I haven't tried making it myself. Perhaps I've just been served poorly made soup. I must make a point of trying to make some. Thanks.

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  30. It does look creamy and so good! Gazpacho is delicious and so refreshing on a hot day.
    ~Judy

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  31. Thanks for the nice comments. Much appreciated. Enjoy the weekend!

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  32. We are not fond of cold soups either. Yours looks good though.

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  33. That looks really good. I like having a few dishes that only I will eat -- they make terrific solo lunches.

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  34. Believe it or not I've never tried any kind of cold soups! This does look delicious :)

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  35. Ha! I'm with your family--cold soups just seem so wrong to me. ;) But I bet this one would be good warm too!

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  36. Thanks for sharing on Foodie Friends Friday! Please come back on Sunday to VOTE!

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  37. One of these days I have to try Gazpacho! This one looks like a winner and I am keeping it to try!

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  38. Those look wonderful!

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  39. We just love gazpacho, and yours looks fabulous! I am looking forward to trying it! Thanks for sharing, and have a great week!

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  40. I'm SO making this soup this week. I've got all the ingredients ready :) What better for a hot summer's day? Thanks for sharing your recipe!

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  41. Sounds yummy, I love Fine Cooking, it seems you can't go wrong with one of their recipes! What a great recipe for these sticky, hot summer days!

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  42. I have never had gazpacho, although I do have a funny story about it. One day I will write up that story.

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    1. I'm looking forward to reading about it :)

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  43. No wonder you love this gazpacho - I think it looks terrific. And whenever I make a dish that only I love, I'm grateful to have all the more to myself!

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  44. Creamy versions of Gazpacho are my favorite. This looks delicious. Thanks for sharing with Souper Sundays. ;-)

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  45. Looks really tasty, Carol! I'm usually not keen on soup,but just the fact its cold and pureed is very appealing! I'd love to try it! Have a great week :)

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  46. That is some delicious gazpacho my friend, it is really coming into style - I am seeing it everywhere :D

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

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  47. I don't make cold soup much because my husband isn't keen on it - but it is lovely in hot weather - this sounds great

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  48. This cold soup sounds and looks delicious...especially during Summer...
    Thanks for the recipe Carol and have a wonderful week :)

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  49. An excellent idea for hot summer days!Looks delicious and refreshing!I hope you are fine,dear Carol!Many kisses from Greece!

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  50. I go back and forth on cold soup but this one definitely seems like its worth giving a try!

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  51. Your post made me smile with teaspooons of cumin and the croutons :) I have to say I also am not a big fan of cold soup but this does look creamy and delicious!

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  52. It does look very creamy. And I like both cumin and coriander, so I like what you did.

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  53. Hi Carol,
    Your Gazpacho looks delicious, I just love your combination of flavors. Hope you are having a great week and thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
    Come Back Soon!
    Miz Helen
    A New Follower

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  54. While I am OK with hot tomato soup, I will take my cold soup with pears and Greek yogurt. ;')

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