Welcome to my classic gazpacho! This Spanish cold tomato soup is something I always eat when travelling, I remember having the most wonderful bowl in Barcelona once after a very hot walk around the rooftop of Casa Mila. It was baking hot and the sight of a refreshing bowl of chilled gazpacho coming towards me was the best thing in the world at that moment. I was there with a friend and that night we hopped on a boat at the marina and sailed it across the border to Montpellier in the south of France. Where there was a lot more delicious food but I never quite forgot that gazpacho. The right food at the right place at the right time, a perfect storm of flavours and climate.
Whenever I now make tomato gazpacho myself it always takes me back to that day in Barcelona. This cold soup recipe is one of those summer staples that you'll make again and again and it's so easy to do. A classic gazpacho recipe works for simple lunches at home or when entertaining on warm summer nights. And just like tomato soup in winter is the ultimate in comforting hugs, cold gazpacho in summer is the ultimate refresher.
On hot summer days, there is nothing better than a fresh, cold bowl of gazpacho and it tastes better than ever because tomatoes will be in season. Use large tomatoes in this classic gazpacho recipe, as you have to remove the skins and if you use cherry tomatoes you will be there all day! No one has time to sit and peel a kilo of tiny cherry tomatoes.
With no cooking time, this easy gazpacho recipe is a very quick lunch option to have in the fridge and eat at a moment's notice. Or, make it fresh and stir through some ice cubes to chill it down.
This classic gazpacho is one of my summer recipes and I hope you love it as much as I do!
Ingredients
- Tomatoes
- Cucumber
- Shallot
- Bell pepper
- Olive oil
- Basil
- Sherry vinegar
- White wine vinegar
- Garlic
- Salt and pepper
See the recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Put the tomatoes in a bowl of boiled water and leave for a few minutes until the skins start to peel off. Remove, and peel the skin off and discard, before cutting in half and scooping out the seeds.
Peel and cut the cucumber into chunks, keeping a handful back for your garnish.
Sprinkle some salt over the garlic and crush it into a paste using the back of a knife or spoon.
Place the tomatoes in a blender with the cucumber, sherry vinegar, white wine vinegar, garlic and half of the basil plus a generous glug of olive oil and some salt and pepper and blend until smooth. Chill in the fridge for an hour before pouring into bowls.
What to serve with gazpacho
Garnish your gazpacho soup with finely diced cucumber, shallot, red bell pepper and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. You can add croutons too if you want to bulk it out a bit more.
Hint: Serving gazpacho in clean white bowls looks amazing.
Variations
Here are some ways to make this classic gazpacho your own.
- Spicy - add chili pepper flakes to add some heat
- Deluxe - add a dollop of cream cheese and stir it through to make this decadent
- Insta friendly- Edible flowers look so pretty, I like chive flowers in this soup if I have any!
Storage
Store in the fridge after making, it's good for 2-3 days.
These ingredients don't stand up well to freezing.
Classic gazpacho
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 1 kg large ripe tomatoes
- 1 cucumber
- 1 shallot
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1 handful chopped fresh basil
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Boil the kettle, and place the tomatoes in a bowl of boiling water for a few minutes to loosen the skins.
- Cut the cucumber into chunks, keeping a handful back and finely dicing for your garnish.
- Finely dice the bell pepper and shallot.
- Sprinkle some salt over the garlic and crush it into a paste using the back of a knife or spoon.
- Remove the tomatoes carefully with a slotted spoon, slide the skins off and cut them in half to scoop out the seeds being sure to preserve as much flesh as you can
- Place the tomatoes in a blender with the garlic, cucumber chunks, sherry vinegar, white wine vinegar, half the basil and a generous glug of olive oil and blend until smooth. Chill in the fridge for an hour.
- Pour the gazpacho into bowls and top with the finely diced shallot, bell pepper, cucumber and some chopped basil and parsley, plus an extra drizzle of olive oil.
- Season to taste and serve.
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