Help w/Gazpacho

[jpinmaryland]

I just made this the other day for a friend of mine that I cook for once or twice a week and I dont yet know how it turned it out, I will find out next week. Anyhow I was wondering if I needed to kick it up some...

We pureed in blender: red/yellow Peppers (2), cucumbers (2), bermuda onion, tomatoes (4 medium) garlic (2 cloves), salt/pepper. Used about a cup or more of olive oil and added maybe 4 oz of Tarragon white wine vinegar.

It didnt seem to have enough bite, so I added some Balsamic vinegar which darkened it some. Maybe about 3-4 oz. My friend said it still didnt seem to have enough kick, so I ask:

Should I just wait till it sits overnight and then see?
Add something like sour cream?
Add worcestshire sauce? something else? what about celery in this?

Again, I will find out next week how it turned out as I dont keep in touch with her everyday so maybe it turned out fine, but I was wondering what you all think.

 

[shortchef]

I've never made it quite that way--I do use less olive oil and vinegar. Here is mine: 2 cups peeled, diced English cucumber; 2 cups diced red bell pepper; 2 cups diced ripe tomato; 1/2 cup diced red onion; 2 cloves minced garlic; 2 cups tomato juice; 1/2 cup red wine vinegar; 1/3 cup EV olive oil; 2 dashes Tabasco or other hot sauce. I put everything in a big bowl and mix it up with salt and pepper to my taste, then put half of it in the blender and puree it, dump it back in the bowl and stir it, then chill it for half a day or so. When I serve it I put some julienned basil leaves on top. My friends love this and so do I. Gazpacho is so healthy and good for you.

 

[kitchenelf]

I would use red wine vinegar. I don't really have a recipe - just go by taste.

tomatoes
English cukes
red peppers
red onion
garlic
jalapeños
lemon or lime
sherry vinegar
olive oil
a bit of ground cumin

I run mine through my meat grinder as I prefer a bit chunky. To get the last of the veggies out I run a slice of bread through it - doesn't hurt the soup at all! When you first make it the vinegar will seem like too much. After it sets in fridge for a few hours it calms down.

I garnish with a bit of sour cream.

 

[GB]

Worcestshire sauce would be a good addition. I also enjoy adding some jalapeno peppers for a little kick.

 

[jennyema]

Sherry vinegar is the most traditional, being a Spanish dish.

The problem might be the tomatoes you are using. If they are from the supermarket, they probably don't have a very robust flavor.

I usually use tomatoes from my garden, but I've actually made it with canned tomatoes before, too.

I also sometimes make it the very traditional way with bread. Gratuitous carbs, I know, but it's good that way.

 

[kitchenelf]

Jenny - the bread through the meat grinder works out being a good way to get it in there!

I have used canned tomatoes with good results too - much better than under ripe grocery store tomatoes.

 

[GotGarlic]

I just made this the other day for a friend of mine that I cook for once or twice a week and I dont yet know how it turned it out, I will find out next week. Anyhow I was wondering if I needed to kick it up some...

We pureed in blender: red/yellow Peppers (2), cucumbers (2), bermuda onion, tomatoes (4 medium) garlic (2 cloves), salt/pepper. Used about a cup or more of olive oil and added maybe 4 oz of Tarragon white wine vinegar.

It didnt seem to have enough bite, so I added some Balsamic vinegar which darkened it some. Maybe about 3-4 oz. My friend said it still didnt seem to have enough kick, so I ask:

Should I just wait till it sits overnight and then see?
Add something like sour cream?
Add worcestshire sauce? something else? what about celery in this?

Again, I will find out next week how it turned out as I dont keep in touch with her everyday so maybe it turned out fine, but I was wondering what you all think.

I think that's way too much olive oil; a quarter cup should be plenty. I would use red wine or sherry vinegar instead of white wine vinegar, and tarragon is not a traditional flavor for this soup. Sour cream or cream will just dilute the flavor even more (I've learned I don't like creamy tomato sauces because they mute the tomato flavor too much for my taste).

I think you've gotten some great advice - those are just a couple more comments. HTH.

 

[simplicity]

I'm wondering if there aren't typos in this recipe, although we all make gazpacho differently. Instead of a cup of olive oil, perhaps it should have read 1 cup of tomato juice. 1 tablespoon or so of olive oil should be adequate.

If it seems okay otherwise, and you only want to spice it up, you've received some suggestions. A couple of mine would be Picante Sauce and Tabasco.

Good luck with it!

 

[jpinmaryland]

hey everyone, thanks for all the suggestions. As for the recipe, we had gone to Borders and I quickly copied it from a basic cooking book.

I dont really know if I used one cup of olive oil. I was going mostly by feel adding it to the blender a little at a time and I supposed the tomatoes added a bit with their pulp. I would guess between 4 oz and 8 oz. of oil was used. I thought the Balsamic vinegar would sharpen the taste a bit but didnt seem to.

I didnt remember what type of vinegar was called for in the recipe but my friend had this lovely tarragon vinegar and I thoght it would make a nice compliment to the tomato. I think it was probably overpowered by the other stuff though. But again this soup had not yet settled overnight.

I did not want to add hot stuff as her husband does not like it and it was also goign to be served to other relatives and I was not sure of their palates. The original recipe did not call for it. I am not afraid to use garlc though and I added about 2 or 3 cloves.

ANyhow it will be fun to see next week how it turned out. I have a feeling it might have matured overnight. The ingredients were quite fresh althogh not totally sure about those tomatos. Good idea on those.

Tune in next week..

 

[Nat2007]

Hi,

The most important thing for the Gazpacho is that you use very ripe tomatoes, that actually taste like tomato....I have tried making gazpacho sometimes with tomatoes that looked very nice but tasted like nothing at all....and it does not work. If you are not able to get nice tomatoes, maybe adding a spoon of concentrated tomato paste can work....

For 1 kg of tomatoes I use 1/2 red pepper, 1/2 green pepper and 1/2 cucumber. I also put a bit of onion and 2 garlic gloves.

Then I take about 50gr. of bread (with no crust) and dip it into vinegar. I add it to the gazpacho as well.

If it is too thick, I put in a few ice cubes

 

[lovergrill]

Sounds like a real interesting bit of Gazpacho.

So here is my 2 cents:
The tomatoes should be peeled and seeded before going into the blender.
Pop the tomatoes into a pot of boiling water for two seconds and they peel like a snap.
Cut the tomatoes in half along their "equator" and give each half a good squeeze over a bowl.
All of the liquid and seeds will come out very efficiently.
This leaves you with the highest amount of tomato mass for the best tasting Gazpacho.
I would cut back on the garlic as it tends to over power everything else.
If you really like the taste of tarragon vinegar in your Gazpacho add it after the blending is done.
If you have a manual vegetable mill also called a "Moulin à légumes" use this instead of the blender.
First it gives a better mouth feel to the Gazpacho and second it entrains almost no air in the blend.
The blender tends to whip the veggies to death and forces a huge amount of air into the solution.
I can tell when I am served blender made Gazpacho, it is always bubbly and too light and right after eating it I want to burp.

Seems more like my 4 cents now

Anyway:
-kill some of the garlic
-concentrate that tomato flavor
-get the air out of it

Good Luck

 

[VeraBlue]

When I make gazpacho I use a few jalapenos, too. Also, I make an herb oil to drizzle over the top and then swirl through it. Basil, sage, thyme and tarragon all work wonderfully. Make the oil by processing the herbs, good olive oil, a clove of garlic, and a bit of good parmigiano cheese.

 

[coriander]

I do enjoy celery in gazpacho, but I'd be hesitant to use that much oil, myself. It will be interesting to hear how it melds. While not purely traditional, the balsamic sounds like an intriguing addition, but then I tend t think it improves most every savory dish. As does Worcestershire.

A big key is very ripe vegetables, so that they have a lot of flavor. I'd use canned tomatoes before I'd use underripe fresh. And I may have to - it's been a tough year for tomatoes in my area.

 

[Nat2007]

Hi,

The most important thing for the Gazpacho is that you use very ripe tomatoes, that actually taste like tomato....I have tried making gazpacho sometimes with tomatoes that looked very nice but tasted like nothing at all....and it does not work. If you are not able to get nice tomatoes, maybe adding a spoon of concentrated tomato paste can work....

For 1 kg of tomatoes I use 1/2 red pepper, 1/2 green pepper and 1/2 cucumber. I also put a bit of onion and 2 garlic gloves.

Then I take about 50gr. of bread (with no crust) and dip it into vinegar. I add it to the gazpacho as well.

If it is too thick, I put in a few ice cubes

And I forgot: a nice dash of good olive oil.
Also in some parts of Spain when they serve Gazpacho, they give you vegetables, hard boiled egg and serrano ham, all cut in cubes so you can top your gazpacho with them, as you prefer. Some people also add croutons.

 

[jpinmaryland]

It apparently did not meld very well. that mix of tarragon and balsamic just produced a sort of caramel colored soup. Just a follow up, lots of good ideas here.