Gazpacho
Gazpacho is the signature cold soup of Andalusia in southern Spain, born in the sun-scorched farmhouses of the Guadalquivir valley where field workers needed something cooling, nourishing, and simple. What makes it remarkable is method, not recipe: ripe summer tomatoes blended with day-old bread, olive oil emulsified in a thin stream, then chilled to 6–8°C so the flavours intensify and the texture turns silky. It should never be served at room temperature — a good gazpacho tastes of Spain in August.
Andalusian soul
Born in sun-scorched Guadalquivir farmhouses
Serve at 6–8°C
Temperature is everything — never serve it warm
Bread as thickener
Day-old bread gives body without cream
Olive oil emulsion
Oil poured in a thin stream creates silky texture
Ingredients 4 servings
- 800g ripe tomatoes (San Marzano or plum), roughly chopped
- 1 red bell pepper (about 200g), deseeded and chopped
- 1 medium cucumber (about 200g), peeled and chopped
- 2 garlic cloves
- 100g day-old white bread, crusts removed
- 60ml extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp fine salt
- 200ml cold water
How to make it
- 1Tear the bread into pieces and soak in 200ml cold water for 10 minutes.
- 2Put tomatoes, pepper, cucumber, and garlic into a blender and blitz for 1 minute on high.
- 3Add the soaked bread along with its soaking water, vinegar, and salt; blitz again.
- 4With the motor running, pour olive oil in a thin stream — this emulsification gives the soup its silky texture.
- 5Taste and adjust salt and vinegar.
- 6Pass through a fine-mesh sieve for a smoother result, or leave it rustic.
- 7Chill at least 2 hours — gazpacho at 6–8°C is vastly more flavourful than at room temperature.
- 8Serve in chilled bowls with a drizzle of olive oil on top.
Nutritional info
per serving (~400 ml)
Estimated nutritional values.
Pairs perfectly with
