Make Authentic Spanish Gazpacho

Authentic Spanish gazpacho is delicious, nutritious and easy to make. Served chilled and made of mostly raw, healthy ingredients, it's a great low-calorie, refreshing soup for summer. According to Steven Raichlen at the New York Times, this "liquid salad," is "one of the best uses of tomatoes," and "combines the thirst-quenching virtues of a cold drink with the nourishment of a salad." Once you've mastered this classic recipe for four, feel free to modify ingredients to your own personal taste.

Instructions

Preparation

1. Onion and garlic are key ingredients in gazpacho.

Wash all the vegetables. Remove the peel from the onion and garlic.

2. Slices of bread

Set the two pieces of day-old bread (preferably dense, firm bread) in a bowl covered in water, and sprinkle them with salt. Put aside.

3. Tomatoes help give gazpacho its bright color.

Core the tomatoes (remove the stems and hard center sections), peel the cucumber and remove the seeds, stems and cores from the green and red peppers with the paring knife.

4. Red pepper gives gazpacho a brighter red color, and adds sweet undertones to the soup.

Cut the vegetables into large chunks on the cutting board with the chopping knife. Blend all six tomatoes, two green peppers, one red pepper, two-thirds of the onion, one clove of garlic, and one cucumber with half a cup of cold water.

5. When the vegetables are evenly blended, pour the mixture through the sieve. This will remove any floating pieces of tomato or pepper peel and give the soup a smoother texture. If you prefer a coarser soup texture, skip this step.

6. Return the mixture to blender. Remove the soaked bread from the water. Add the soaked bread, a tablespoon of sherry vinegar, a teaspoon of salt and a pinch of cumin powder. Blend until the mixture acquires the consistency of heavy cream.

7. If the mixture is too thick, add more water and blend until you've achieved the desired consistency. Chill overnight for maximum flavor (the flavors need time to combine).

Presentation

8. Diced onions

Dice green peppers and onions.

9. Peel a cucumber and slice it into small "fingers" or oblong pieces.

10. Croutons are a crunchy complement to fresh, tangy gazpacho

Pour gazpacho into a bowl. Drizzle it with a little Spanish extra-virgin olive oil.

11. Serve gazpacho topped with the diced onions and green peppers, cucumber fingers and croutons.

12. Parsley is commonly used as garnish for added color or texture in the appearance of a dish.

A sprig of parsley can be added to each serving for extra decoration.

Tags: green peppers, Authentic Spanish, soaked bread