Gazpacho Soup
Monday, August 16th, 2010
Forgive me my indulgence for this and the next two posts. But it IS tomato season and it lasts such a sweet, short time.
This recipe for Gazpacho Soup comes from Thomas Keller of “The French Laundry” restaurant, perhaps one of the most coveted reservations in our nation. I’m not sure Chef Keller would appreciate the liberties I’ve taken with his recipe but we love it! The two parts I’ve left out are: 1) Keller calls for blending all the ingredients in a blender prior to serving it which is the way it is prepared in its country of origin, Spain. However, as you will find it on many menus in the U.S., we like ours with texture so we skip the blending. (That being said – you could do most of the prep work, chopping, in a food processor)
2) He calls for a Balsamic reduction to “dot’ over the top of the soup. We have done it and it is both delicious and beautiful. But not something we want to do every time we make this recipe – it’s a lot of work and time (it requires close monitoring and a ‘diffuser’ function on your range). I’ve included instructions for the glaze in case you would like to make it!
Diva Entertains Blog
Gazpacho Soup Recipe
- 1 cup chopped red onions
- 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
- 1 cup chopped English cucumber
- 1 cup chopped and peeled tomatoes
- 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped garlic
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 3 cups tomato juice
- Sprig of thyme
- Mix all the ingredients except the balsamic glaze together in a bowl or other container, cover, and let sit in the refrigerator overnight or for at least 8 hours. Serve and enjoy!
- (If following the original recipe): The next day, remove the thyme and blend all the ingredients in a blender until the gazpacho is smooth. You will have about 2 quarts. For a smoother texture, strain the soup to yield about 1 quart. Refrigerate the gazpacho until ready to serve.
If using Balsamic Glaze: Heat 2 cups of balsamic vinegar in a heavy saucepan over medium heat until steam rises from the liquid. Place the saucepan on a heat diffuser and let the liquid reduce very slowly (it shouldn’t simmer) for 2 to 3 hours, until it has reduced and thickened to a syrupy glaze. There should be approximately 1 cup of glaze. Keep the glaze in a squeeze bottle at room temperature for garnishing: if the glaze is too thick, warm the bottle in hot water to loosen the glaze. To serve, ladle the cold soup into bowls and squeeze dots of balsamic glaze over the top.
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