Recently, my long-time blogger friend Liz, of That Skinny Chick Can Bake posted a delightful Gazpacho recipe which made me immediately crave this summer sensation! Liz’s recipe took her back to her childhood when her dear Mom recreated the recipe on a summer car vacation to Aspen after having it at a favourite restaurant. My recipe isn’t quite as romantic, in fact, it has no history nor does it conjure up childhood memories because cold soup in a Hungarian household is Sour Cherry Soup, a delicious soup made from European Sour Cherries in a lightly sweetened syrup, yogurt and cinnamon — it is delicious but it does not come anywhere near the complex flavours a Gazpacho has. Each vegetable contributes a certain aspect and my proportions are intentional. Some gazpachos are onion heavy so I used a very small French shallot, and I didn’t use garlic this time, I wanted a mellow flavoured soup with depth. Liz chose tomato juice or V-8 which adds a lot of flavour, I went with plain ordinary vine-rippened tomatoes and water — you could use a veg stock instead. I like a smooth soup so I press it through a fine sieve several times, I find the tomato seeds and the red pepper skin adds a little too much texture, and I do blend for several minutes a few times to get as much out of the pulp as possible. I loved Liz’s crouton garnish, because it adds such texture and interest but we’re going light this week and omitted it. Thank you Liz, your inspiration was perfect timing as we’ve been having 35° C (95° F) with high humidity.
To see more chilled soups that I created in the past, please click below:
- Chilled Watermelon Gazpacho Scented with Almond with Basil and Mint,
- Chilled Watermelon Gazpacho with Watermelon Cucumber Salsa
- Gazpacho – Chilled Tomato Soup with Raw Vegetable Salsa
- Chilled Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup with Warm Sesame Crusted Goats Cheese Balls
- Green Pea and Basil Soup, chaud ou froid (hot or cold)
- Cold Avocado Soup with Cilantro Oil
- Chilled Caramelized Vidalia Onion Soup with Gruyère Brûlé
- Hungarian Sour Cherry Soup
Gazpacho
A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe
Makes 1.5 L strained soup (about 4 servings)
Ingredients:
- 300 g Red Pepper (Capsicum)
- 125 g celery
- 140 g zucchini
- 100 g radish
- 120 g cucumber
- 15 g shallot
- 25 g avocado
- 430 g vine ripened tomatoes
- 500 mL water
- 1 tsp salt
- mint
- basil
- parsley
Corn Salsa
- 40 g sweet corn
- 40 g cucumber, finely cubed
- 40 g celery, finely cubed
- 5 g cilantro, chiffonade
- zest of one fresh lime
- splash of lime juice
- sea salt
Directions:
- Chop everything roughly and add to a large 4 L bowl. Blend with a stick blender (immersion blender) until smooth.
- Press through a fine sieve and blend the remaining pulp with about 500 mL of the strained soup, press through a fine sieve again. I usually repeat twice to get the most out of the pulp. Discard pulp (or compost) and refrigerate strained soup for a couple of hours.
- Combine sweet corn, cucumber, cilantro, lime juice and salt, stir well. Top each bowl with 1 tbsp of the salsa just prior to serving.
Note:
- I used about 2 large mint leaves, 20 basil leaves and 4 parsley sprigs.
- Avocado would be an excellent addition to the salsa garnish.
Gazpacho is worth revisiting over and over again! GREG
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Your gazpacho looks fantastic. I have never made gazpacho, but I sometimes order it in restaurants and find it often disappointing, so I should try your recipe and make my own.
Sour cherries! Eva, you have made me dream of these unique fruits…. They are so much better than sweet cherries; so sophisticated taste when they are black and ripe… I don’t find them here or in nearby France, so I can only dream or ask my family to bring them in cabin luggage (yes, I did ask, and they brought two kilos once making Polish customs officers look at them as if they were insane!). In Poland cold fruit soups are also very popular! I have never been a fan, but now I would pay a lot for a plateful of sour cherry cold soup….or anything with sour cherries.
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Thank you kindly Sissi, I’m going to google a polish sour cherry soup to see how close it is to the Hungarian. It’s too bad you can’t get sour cherries in Switzerland but it’s so nice of your family to bring you some. I too have had “those looks” 👀 from customs officers!
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Gazpacho is a perfect summer soup…so refreshing.
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Thank you Karen, it is indeed refreshing.
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This looks very refreshing and I love your soup bowls. I haven’t made gazpacho for many, many years. It certainly is a dish that’s stood the test of time. I must make this when the weather warms xx
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Thank you for your kind words Charlie, the dish has certainly stood the test of time but with everything a little shake up never hurts! I do hope it warms up for you soon.
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I’m not usually much of a gazpacho lover but I like the sound of the corn salsa. I often find them too oniony and this is coming from someone who loves onions!
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I totally agree with you, Lorraine, so I omitted the onions and used a very small shallot instead. The combo was perfect!
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I haven’t had GAZPACHO in so long but I adore it!!
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Hi GiGi, thank you for your comment, welcome to my blog.
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I’m missing the heat wave, thank goodness, but I’d eat gazpacho rain or shine, hot or cold!!! Thanks for the kind mention—love your twists on this recipe! A must try for sure!!! xo
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Wow, you are so lucky, I haven’t wanted to turn the oven on in ages, it’s been crazy hot and humid. Thank you kindly Liz.
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Love gazpacho! And haven’t made one yet this year. Probably because thus far our tomato crop has been really spotty. Need to visit the farmer’s markets, I guess. Anyway, this is such a refreshing soup, and yours looks terrific. Thanks!
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Thank you for your kind words John, I have another recipe brewing in late August (I can’t believe I am so far ahead this year!). I have decided not to grow anything again, the squirrels and raccoons are brutal and have decimated everything to date.
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We are even hotter and more humid than where you are and this delicious soup will certainly be most welcomed at the table.
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I’m sorry that it’s even hotter where you are Norma, I find our temperatures and humidity intolerable, I cannot imagine it worse! Thank you for your kind words, stay cool.
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It sounds like a great summer time soup, Eva.
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Thank you kindly, Angie, it was lovely indeed.
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