This quick and easy gazpacho is so fast to chop up and enjoy in under 30 minutes. Serve this cold soup as a starter, or add a cheesy quesadilla and have a wonderful meal.
Tomato gazpacho (pronounced guhz paw chow) is a soup of Spanish origin from the Andalusian area, made with tomatoes, onion, cucumber, peppers, garlic, vinegar, and olive oil. There are two other forms of gazpacho, Salmorejo—a creamy puree of tomatoes, bread, oil, garlic, and vinegar; and Ajoblanco—made from bread, almonds, garlic, and olive oil. It is a white soup and very rich.
The original form of this soup hails back to the Roman times when soldiers would soak the stale bread they carried as rations in cooking liquid and add whatever vegetables they could forage to create a porridge. Over time the soup evolved from a ration DIY meal to something much more sophisticated. Today this soup is found on the menus of many restaurants.
Seasoning Cold Foods
Our tastebuds are sensitive to temperature. Cold foods interacts with your tastebuds differently than hot or warm foods. What is seasoned correctly at 98°F appear to taste bland when eaten when room temperature or cold. When making this quick and easy gazpacho do the final seasoning just before serving to get the salt level correct.
This recipe is gluten-free. You will need to double-check the brand of Worcestershire sauce to make sure it is made with a vinegar other than malt vinegar which contains gluten. Most U.S brands are gluten-free as apposed to U.K. Versions. You can easily adapt this recipe to be vegan by skipping the Worcestershire and adding a splash of vinegar and tamarind (a sticky pulp with a spicy apricot-date flavor) to create the zip you want in the recipe.
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Quick and Easy Gazpacho
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: soup
- Method: fresh
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Quick and easy gazpacho is like a fresh tomato salad in liquid form. Loaded with flavor and filled to the brim with vegetables, this cold soup is like a spoonful of the summer harvest.
Ingredients
- 32 ounces Spicy V8 Vegetable Juice
- 3 Roma tomatoes, cut into small dice, (about 1–1/2 cups)
- 1 red onion, cut into small dice (about 2/3 cup)
- 1 English cucumber, cut into small dice (about 1 cup)
- 1 stalk celery, cut into small dice, (about 1/2 cup)
- 1 carrot, cut into small dice, (about 1/2 cup)
- 1 green bell pepper, cut into small dice, (about 1/2 cup)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 jalapeño, seeded and minced, (about 2 teaspoons)
- 2 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh mint
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 lime juiced, (about 2 tablespoons)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
- Pinch of cayenne pepper, as needed
Instructions
- In a large bowl add vegetable juice, diced onion, tomatoes, cucumber, celery, carrot, green pepper, garlic, and jalapeño. Stir to combine.
- Add olive oil, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, lime juice to the soup mixture. Mix in the minced herb and stir to combine.
- Stir in half of the salt and pepper and chill for 15 minutes.
- After chilling the gazpacho taste and add salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper as needed.
- Garnish with parsley. Croutons and avocado slices are also wonderful in the soup. Serve cold or at room temperature.
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