Gazpacho - general principles of preparation
Gazpacho - a popular dish of Spanish cuisine, is a chopped and ground raw vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, etc.) with olive oil, tomato juice, lemon juice or other liquid component. Vegetable composition can vary, but the integral ingredient of this cold dish is ripe, fragrant tomatoes. Often in the dish includes onions (preferably purple), garlic and herbs (cilantro, basil, parsley, mint, etc.). In addition to salt, pepper and vinegar in gazpacho, many other spices and spices are added (for example, tabasco sauce). Vegetables are sometimes added celery or spinach. Often there are recipes for gazpacho, which include avocados, honey, strawberries and seafood.
The main principle of cooking is chopping vegetables and herbs and their further mixing. Then olive oil, a little water, vinegar or tomato juice is poured over the vegetables and everything is carefully mashed to a uniform consistency. Ready soup should be put in the fridge and left to infuse for 3 hours. Serve gazpacho with chopped herbs and ice cubes.
The consistency of the soup can be very different, starting with a homogeneous mash-like mass and ending with finely chopped “liquid salad”. Sometimes they fray only some of the vegetables, and the rest are finely chopped so that they are felt in the dish. By the way, gazpacho comes in three colors: red, green or white. Red gazpacho is prepared, of course, from tomatoes and red bell peppers. Green gazpacho is made from herbs: cilantro, mint, basil, parsley, lettuce and green bell pepper. And for white gazpacho, blanched almonds and pine nuts are used.
Gazpacho - preparing food and dishes
Since the main ingredient of the dish is tomatoes, special attention should be paid to their preparation. You can not make gazpacho from unpeeled tomatoes. To skin off quickly and easily, the tomatoes need to make cuts and immerse them in a bowl of boiling water for one minute. It doesn’t matter how the tomatoes are sliced - it is still mashed in a blender. If you want vegetables to be felt in the soup, some of them can be set aside, chopped and put into vegetable puree. Thick-skinned cucumbers are better to clean, you can also remove the seeds. Seeds and a stalk are removed from the pepper. Garlic and onions are peeled and finely chopped with a knife. All greens are carefully washed and crushed. You also need to decide in advance on the spices and prepare them for adding to gazpacho. For cooking people need a large deep bowl or bowl, a knife, a cutting board, a sieve and a blender. Serve gazpacho in deep drinking bowls, bowls or in glasses.
Gazpacho Recipes:
Recipe 1: Gazpacho
Below is a classic recipe of the famous Spanish gazpacho dish. Preparing such a cold soup of ripe tomatoes, onions, cucumbers and spices.
Ingredients Required:
- 450 g of tomatoes;
- 1 onion;
- 1 cucumber;
- 1 canned pepper;
- 3 cups tomato juice;
- Half a cup of cilantro;
- Third of a glass of red wine vinegar;
- A quarter cup of olive oil;
- Tabasco sauce - a few drops;
- Salt;
- Ground black pepper.
Preparation Method:
Cucumbers and tomatoes are carefully washed. Scald tomatoes with boiling water and cut half of them into small pieces. Onions clean and finely chop half. Half of the cucumber cut in small pieces. Put the sliced vegetables in a combine, add pepper to them and grind everything to a puree. We shift the contents of the bowl. Grind cilantro, add to vegetable puree. Pour in tomato juice, vinegar and olive oil. Add a few drops of tabasco. All thoroughly mixed. From the second half of the tomatoes, remove the seeds and cut the flesh into small cubes. Similarly, chop the cucumber with onions. Put the vegetables in the soup, season the dish to taste with salt and pepper. Put the gazpacho in the fridge to cool.
Recipe 2: Gazpacho with garlic and bell peppers
This recipe for gazpacho will appeal especially to those who love the pronounced, slightly peculiar taste of the dish. To make gazpacho with garlic, tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, garlic and seasonings are used.
Ingredients Required:
- 1 fresh cucumber;
- 6 ripe tomatoes;
- 2 cloves of garlic;
- 1 red bell pepper;
- Half a glass of water;
- Half a cup of olive oil;
- 3 tablespoons of wine vinegar;
- Salt - to taste.
Preparation Method:
With tomatoes remove the skin, after holding them in boiling water. Clean the cucumber and cut into small cubes. Chop the tomatoes. Bulgarian pepper cut in half, remove the seeds from the stem, cut the pepper into small pieces. Finely chop the garlic with a knife. Put tomatoes, cucumber, pepper, garlic in a large deep bowl, add olive oil, water and vinegar. All thoroughly mixed and salt to taste. Then we mix the mixture with an immersion blender until smooth. Putting the soup in the fridge for 4 hours to infuse and cool. Before serving, try the dish and, if necessary, add some salt and pepper.
Recipe 3: Gazpacho with celery
Another variation of the famous Spanish gazpacho soup. In addition to standard tomatoes and cucumbers, the dish also includes celery, basil, mint and 2 types of bell peppers.
Ingredients Required:
- 2 pieces of red and green bell peppers each;
- Onion head;
- Celery stalk;
- 1 cucumber;
- 4 tomatoes;
- Liter of tomato juice;
- Fresh mint and basil - to taste;
- Ice cubes;
- Salt;
- Peppers.
Preparation Method:
All vegetables and herbs carefully washed. With peppers, remove the seeds. Cut the peppers into small cubes. Tomatoes are scalded with boiling water and peeled. Cut the flesh into cubes, cut the cucumber into small pieces. Finely chop the onion. Celery cut into small pieces. Putting all the vegetables in a deep bowl and mash with a blender. Grind fresh greens of mint and basil. Mix vegetable puree with tomato juice and herbs, season the dish with salt and pepper. Serve gazpacho with ice cubes or pre-clean it in the fridge.
Recipe 4: Gazpacho with honey and avocado
According to this recipe, gazpacho is quite spicy, but at the same time a little sweet. Honey notes do not spoil the dish at all, but on the contrary make the taste velvety and enveloping. Ingredients Required:
- 50 ml of olive oil;
- Tomatoes - 5 pcs .;
- 2 cloves of garlic;
- 15 ml of honey;
- 50 ml of lemon juice;
- Sea salt - to taste;
- Basil bunch;
- 1 avocado;
- 1 sweet red pepper;
- 5 celery stalks;
- Purple onions - 1 head;
- Parsley;
- Black pepper powder - to taste.
Preparation Method:
With tomatoes, remove the skin and cut into small pieces. Garlic chopped. Basil finely cut. We put tomatoes, basil, garlic in a deep bowl, add olive oil, lemon juice and 100 ml of water. Season the mixture with salt and puree with a blender until smooth. We clean the avocado, remove the bone, cut the flesh into cubes. Onion finely shred. Celery stalks are ground. With pepper, remove the seeds and cut the pepper into small pieces. Pour the puree into a deep bowl and lay out the chopped avocados, peppers, celery and onions. Chop the parsley and add to the soup. Season with gazpacho to taste with pepper and put in the fridge to infuse.
Recipe 5: Tender Crab Gazpacho
This is the first cold dish - a real culinary masterpiece. This soup of tomato and snow crab can be served for a dinner party or dinner.
Ingredients Required:
- 200 g of crabs;
- 1 kilogram of tomatoes;
- 2 bell peppers;
- A pound of cucumbers;
- 2 cloves of garlic;
- 1 purple onion;
- 1 chili;
- 20 g of parsley and cilantro;
- Tomato juice - 500 ml;
- 45 ml of olive oil;
- 30 ml of lemon juice;
- 1 tbsp. l Sahara;
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste.
Preparation Method:
Peel tomatoes and coarsely chop. With pepper, remove the seeds and chop the pepper in small pieces. Remove the seeds from chili peppers and also cut into pieces. Chop onion finely, chop cucumbers. Chop garlic and parsley. Put all of the listed ingredients in a bowl and pour in a blender. Crab meat is disassembled into fibers and mixed with olive oil, cilantro, lemon juice and tomato juice. Season with sugar, salt and pepper and grind everything in a blender. Chilled gazpacho soup poured into plates and add 2 spoons of snow crab with seasonings to each plate.
Gazpacho - secrets and useful tips from the best chefs
The main secret of delicious, fragrant gazpacho lies in carefully selected, fresh and ripe tomatoes. Soup definitely will not succeed from overripe or, conversely, unripe tomatoes, sluggish pepper and rancid butter. It is best to use extra virgin olive oil, homemade tomatoes and fresh large pepper. Greens can be pre-soaked in cold water for half an hour. Sometimes the peppers are baked in the oven until golden brown, after which the baked skin is removed and the flesh is cut into cubes.
In general, the classic version of cold gazpacho soup suggests adding bread soaked in advance into the soup. Be sure to keep the gazpacho in the fridge, but the soup becomes the most delicious the next day. Another secret of the dish is that together with a plate of gazpacho they serve a small saucer with separate fillings. These can be nuts, pieces of ham or salami, grapes, chopped boiled egg or garlic croutons.
