search best foodSoups · Spanish
Gazpacho, Blended and Sieved
Salted vegetables rested before blending, olive oil streamed in until it turns creamy, then a long chill.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Chill
- 2 hr
- Total
- 2 hr 25 min
- Serves
- 4
Added . Suitable for: Vegetarian, Vegan.
Why this version
- Twenty minutes of salting before blending pulls out juice and deepens the flavour.
- Streaming the oil into the running blender emulsifies it, turning the soup from red to a creamy coral.
- Sieving takes five minutes and gives a silky soup; unsieved, tasters found the skins distracting.
Ingredients
- 1 kg ripe tomatoes, cored and roughly chopped
- 1 small cucumber, about 150 g, peeled
- 1 green pepper, seeded
- 1 small garlic clove
- 1 tsp fine salt
- 40 g day-old white bread, crusts removed
- 2 tbsp sherry vinegar
- 90 ml extra-virgin olive oil, plus more to serve
- 100 ml cold water, if needed
Method
Put the tomatoes, cucumber, pepper and garlic in a large bowl and toss with the salt. Tear the bread over the top and leave for 20 minutes.
Tip everything, juices included, into a blender with the vinegar. Blend on high for 1 minute. With the motor running, pour in the olive oil in a slow stream; the colour will lighten to orange and the soup will turn creamy.
Pass the soup through a fine sieve, pressing on the solids with a ladle.
Taste and adjust with salt and vinegar. If it is thicker than single cream, loosen it with some of the cold water.
Chill for at least 2 hours, ideally overnight. Serve very cold with diced cucumber and pepper, a few croutons and a drizzle of oil.
What we tested
- No bread: thinner and a little sharp; leave it out for a gluten-free version and use 30 ml less water.
- Oil blended in all at once: separated on standing.
- Served after 30 minutes' chilling: the garlic was raw and the flavours separate. It needs the full 2 hours.
Keeping
Keeps for 3 days in the fridge; stir before serving.
Swaps and notes
Replace one-third of the tomatoes with watermelon for a sweeter, lighter version.
