This week, I am bestowing upon you the recipe of a real, and really delicious Spanish Gazpacho, for which I know that each and every one of you is going to thank me … feel free to embellish it with cherry tomatoes, poached shrimp or any-thing else you like … I am keeping it super simple, elegant & vegan, with some roughly chopped almonds and droplets of extra virgin olive oil …
… As Leonardo Da Vinci famously said, “Simplicity is the Ultimate Sophistication”, which also introduces one of my very short essays titled ‘The Frightful Duplicity of Language’ … do read it in the Essays section, and you will see how the underlying ‘piquancy’ of the soup perfectly fits the content of the essay!
I must first admit that I have always disliked soups, the very notion of liquid food giving rise to visions of old age and/or damaged teeth, but that is not the only reason; most are badly made, either too thin or too thick, the flavour weak or often overpowered with truffle oil, possibly the most overused ingredient till date.
That said, it is not only a convenient, but also intrinsic part of a traditional French menu, in which case a consommé or vichyssoise would be far more fitting, but since the most widely mal-executed soup that I have come across till date is the gazpacho, even at most Spanish Ambassadors’ dining tables where I have frequently had the terrible misfortune of being served a watery concoction with bits of tomato and bell pepper floating on top, this is the soup recipe I would like to reveal first, one that is the outcome of much trial and error, the final result being a perfectly homogenized soup, light but not entirely liquid, tart enough to act as a palate cleanser but may also, with the addition of some poached shrimp, make for a wonderful light lunch chaperoned by a simple mixed green salad.
Ingredients
YIELD: 6 PORTIONS (as part of a 4 course meal, or 3 portions as part of a light lunch)
- 900g tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 1 medium red bell pepper (capsicum), roughly chopped
- ½ medium cucumber, peeled and roughly chopped
- ½ shallot, roughly chopped
- 1/3 cup whole almonds
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar (you may substitute with apple cider vinegar, brand Braggs)
- 1 medium jalapeno (i use approximately 4 to 5 slices out of the bottled one, pic below – brand American Garden sliced jalapeno )
- 2 garlic cloves roughly chopped
- ½ cup cold water
- Salt & pepper to taste
For the Garnish:
- Finely chopped unsalted almonds with skin
- Extra virgin olive oil
Method
First chop up all of the ingredients and gather the rest. (STEP 1)
Then simply place all the ingredients, except the water, into a blender or mixer grinder (STEP 2) and blend till maximum puree consistency. Then add the water and blend again. Pass through a fine sieve, pushing as much through with a wooden spoon as you can (STEP 3). Check seasoning, refrigerate until cold, pour into bowls, garnish as shown in the final image with some finely chopped almonds and drops of extra virgin olive oil … and voila, you have an elegant, yet provocative real Spanish Gazpacho.
Above: Final Image