Chilled soups a great way to beat the heat!
Cold soups are ideal for picnics – just pack some in a thermos and you’re good to go! I like gazpacho but, as with many things, tried a lot of different proportions and techniques until I came up with a recipe that I will now stick with forever. The best trick in this recipe involves mashing the hot hard boiled egg into the garlic; it cooks the garlic just slightly so it doesn’t overwhelm the soup with a harsh, raw flavour. I also like to include some beef or vegetable stock to add a richness to the soup and balance out the acid of the tomatoes. Soaking the breadcrumbs in tomato juice also gives the soup a pleasing consistency. I usually dice the vegetables quite finely so I don’t have to purée the gazpacho as much as I find it’s nice to have a little bit of texture in the finished product. Try serving gazpacho in sherry or shot glasses for a more elegant presentation of this healthy, easy to enjoy soup. If you’re as big a fan of gazpacho as I am, you might also want to try my smoked tomato gazpacho.
Ingredients
- 1 egg
- 1/4 teaspoon (1.25 mL) salt
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups (500 mL) finely chopped fresh plum or Roma tomatoes
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) finely chopped green pepper
- 1 cup (250 mL) finely chopped English cucumber
- 1/4 cup (60 mL) minced red onion
- 2/3 cup (160 mL) good quality olive oil
- juice of 1 lemon
- 2 cups (500 mL) beef stock (or vegetable stock), chilled
- 1/4 cup (60 mL) red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup (60 mL) finely minced parsley and/or dill, basil, etc.
- 1 teaspoon (5 mL) dried oregano
- 2 tablespoons (30 mL) Worcestershire sauce
- pepper, coarsely ground
- 1 46-oz (1.3 kg) can low sodium tomato juice
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) panko (Japanese bread crumbs) or gluten-free bread crumbs
- Tabasco, to taste
- garnish (optional): chopped parsley, diced cucumber, crumbled feta
Method
- Place egg in small pot of cold water, bring to boil, and let simmer for 10 minutes (note that you can omit the egg for a vegan version).
- Take 1/2 cup of the tomato juice and combine in a small bowl with the panko or other bread crumbs. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine tomatoes, pepper, cucumber, red onion, olive oil, lemon juice, beef or vegetable stock, red wine vinegar, parsley, oregano, Worcestershire, and coarsely ground black pepper to taste. Stir.
- Place garlic in a saucer and sprinkle with the salt.
- When egg is finished cooking, run it quickly under cold water then remove the shell and immediately add it – still hot – to the garlic and salt. Mash together with a fork.
- Add tomato juice, tomato juice and panko mixture plus garlic and egg mixture to the bowl of vegetables.
- Stir and then taste for seasoning; add Tabasco to taste.
- With a stick blender, regular blender or food processor, purée the gazpacho in batches until you achieve the desired degree of smoothness. Sometimes I like to puree just half of the gazpacho then recombine with the unpuréed portion.
- Chill for at least 4 hours or up to 3 days to let flavours blend, then serve. Garnish as desired.
Serves 8 – 12.
Hi Paula-it looks really good but seems a bit oily…suggestions? Was thinking more panko crumbs and/or lemon juice…
It probably just needs to be blended more. Try ‘whisking’ it with a fork. Let me know what happens!
Hi Paula-as always, my summertime fav! I would like to know if it can freeze? cheers!
Hi Lisa! I have never tried freezing it so would test with a small amount. I suspect the raw vegetables might get a little liquidy but we won’t know until you try and report back! 🙂
I froze and left a batch for my parents…huge success! 🙂
Glad to hear this!
Made a bunch for my parents last summer and froze it in canning jars…worked beautifully!
Just made my first (of many) batch and can’t wait til it chills.
So happy you enjoyed this recipe so much! Thanks for letting me know.