Chilled Gazpacho soup remains one of the summer’s simplest and purest pleasures. While there are myriad iterations of Gazpacho today—from fruity watermelon, classic red tomato, to Ajo Blanco, they share one common feature: a great Gazpacho is light, chilled, and refreshing. Although making Gazpacho at home is a simple and straightforward process, you can screw everything up if you are not careful. Here is an overview of a few factors to keep in mind to achieve Gazpacho perfection.
Don’t Leave Seeds and Skins
A little texture isn’t a bad thing when making Gazpacho. However, it’s not pleasant to chew a soup. Accordingly, endeavor to remove tomato, watermelon, tough cucumber skins, and cuke seeds. Although it’s allowed to leave tomato skins while cooking, it’s best to remove them as well since they can be too fibrous to slurp.
Add Enough Seasoning
Child soups require surprising amount of seasoning—even more than hot soups. This means more salt, more acid (think vinegar or lemon juice), and more heat (chilies).
Don’t Eat It Right Away
All good things in life are worth waiting for. Though it may be too tempting to dip your spoon after blending the Gazpacho, you need to give it time to mellow and let its flavor really mesh. This will allow your Gazpacho to not only improve its taste with time, but to properly chill as well.
Don’t Neglect Toppings
A good Gazpacho is all about pureed fruits and veggies. However, it looks great and shines when some thoughtful toppings are added. A swirl of crème fraiche or sourcer cream, a few green grapes (traditional in almond-based Gazpacho), roasted almonds, toasted seeds, or a drizzle of some fancy favored oil will not only enhance its flavor but will also add the much-needed texture.
Chilled Gazpacho soup is great in summer. Step outside your Gazpacho comfort zone and prepare something memorable by avoiding common Gazpacho mistakes.