Garden Gazpacho

At our most recent cookout, we decided to each make something we hadn’t made before. While everyone else was making some kind of meat dish, I decided to be lazy and make gazpacho. I had it once before in some little tapas place and remembered the tangy flavors and how pleasant it was as a starter. It cleansed the palate and was a great appetizer. 

I knew I needed tomatoes, but had little clue what else went into it! A quick search online brought me a myriad of recipes, each one more authentic then the next. It was more than a little confusing.

Here’s what Wiki (extracted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gazpacho) says:

Gazpacho is a cold Spanish tomato-based raw vegetable soup, originating in the southern region of Andalusia. Gazpacho is widely consumed throughout Spain, neighboring Portugal (where it is known as gaspacho) and parts of Latin America. Gazpacho is mostly consumed during the summer months, due to its refreshing qualities.

So going by what Wiki had to say,  and mixing & matching the various recipes; here is the result –

The Garden in a Bowl

Yes, in totally un-glam plastic bowls.

If you aren’t used to cold soup, you might not fancy gazpacho very much. However, on a hot & humid Singapore evening, this liquid salad was very refreshing and an instant relief from the heat.

This is a great dish to serve at picnics & BBQs.

– SL

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 6 ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 1 white onion, finely chopped
• 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, chopped
• 1 sweet red bell pepper seeded and chopped
• 1 sweet green bell pepper  seeded and chopped
• 1 stalk of celery, chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
• Set aside a small portion of red and green peppers, cucumber, onion and bread or croutons to sprinkle on top.

* feel free to tweak the ingredients and quantities 🙂

Preparation

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender/ food processor to desired consistency. (to dilute: add tomato juice/ water)
2. Place in non-metal, non-reactive storage container, cover tightly and refrigerate overnight, allowing flavors to blend. Add salt & pepper to taste.
3. If you want to eat it straight away, you can put some ice cubes in to cool it down.
4. Serve the gazpacho in soup bowls, with the portions of pepper, cucumber, onion, croutons, etc.