The gazpacho recipe
for your table
Cut the tomatoes into pieces, peel the cucumber, and remove the seeds and membranes from the pepper. Put everything in a bowl with the stale white bread and half a clove of garlic per person, and leave it for ten minutes so the bread absorbs the tomato juice.
Blend everything until smooth and pour in the olive oil in a thin stream while the machine is running. This emulsifies the oil with the tomato juice, so the soup won’t separate later. Season with salt and sherry vinegar, approximately 1 cl vinegar to 3 cl oil.
Pour the soup through a fine sieve, pressing it through with the back of a spoon. The skins, seeds, and last pieces of pepper will remain behind. Without this step, you don’t drink it but spoon it, and in a small glass that makes all the difference.
Refrigerate the gazpacho covered for at least two hours. It really needs to be cold, and during those two hours the garlic and vinegar also have time to infuse properly. Taste it again afterwards and pour it into glasses that are cold too.
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The story
Gazpacho comes from Andalusia, southern Spain, where it is served when it is too hot to cook. In its oldest form, there was no tomato at all: it was bread, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, and water, pounded together in a mortar. Tomato was added only later and took over the starring role, but the bread remained. So it is not a thickener added afterwards; it is the oldest ingredient in the recipe. It binds the olive oil and tomato juice together, preventing the soup in the glass from separating into two layers.
The right glass
Gazpacho works in a glass because you drink it rather than eat it with a spoon. You want a smooth rim and a size that fits in one hand, since you usually hold a small plate or napkin alongside it. For serving as a drink, a shot glass of seven or eight centilitres is the right size: enough for two or three sips, and you can carry around a tray full of them. If you serve it as a starter, choose a wide glass of around twenty centilitres that also fits a small spoon and lets you see the cucumber cubes and drop of olive oil on top. Thick glass helps in both cases, as it keeps the soup cold for longer. You can find more glassware for appetisers in the amuse glasses collection.
Schott Zwiesel For You Shot Glass 7.5 cl (4 pieces)
Pasabahce Elysia Amuse Glass 23.5 cl (4 pieces)
Both sets together € 36,90.
The right tools
For gazpacho, besides the glass, you use a fine strainer to make the soup smooth and a jigger to measure the olive oil and sherry vinegar. These are the bar tools we use ourselves; you can find everything in our bar tools & cocktail sets.
Glassware set (our choice 01) + 2 bar tools together € 44,85.
What do you serve with it?
Gazpacho is sour from the tomatoes and vinegar, so you want something dry and cool alongside it that can stand up to that. White wine from Spain is the most obvious choice, and sparkling wine works just as well. Verdejo and cava are popular choices. On each drink page, you can read the alcohol percentage, what it tastes like, which cocktails it pairs with, and which glass you need.
Variations & twists
Yellow tomatoes make the soup milder and almost sweet, and if you replace some of the tomato with watermelon, you get a summery version that tastes even fresher. Salmorejo is the thicker variant from Córdoba: more bread, no cucumber or pepper, and topped with egg and ham. If you want it spicy, add a small piece of green pepper to the blender. Looking for more inspiration? Browse more than 100 cocktail recipes.
Serving tip
Only pour the gazpacho once the glasses themselves have also come out of the refrigerator, because a cold glass keeps the soup at the right temperature much longer than a room-temperature glass. Garnish at the last moment with a few cubes of cucumber, a drop of olive oil, and some finely chopped chives; added earlier, they will sink. If you serve a full portion, put a small spoon beside it.
Good to know
Why does it need to go in the refrigerator for two hours?
Two reasons. The blender gets warm and transfers that heat to the soup, so gazpacho is lukewarm straight from the machine and tastes bland. And the garlic, vinegar, and salt need time to infuse throughout the soup; immediately after blending, you taste them separately. Allow at least two hours; overnight is better. Taste it again afterward, because everything seems less seasoned when cold.
Why is there stale bread in it?
The bread does two things. It binds the soup, making it thick enough to drink without running down your throat like water. It also helps keep the olive oil and tomato juice together, so no layer of oil floats on top in the glass. Stale bread absorbs more moisture than fresh bread, so save a piece of baguette or white bread that is a day or two old.
Do you need to peel the tomatoes?
Not if you are going to strain the soup afterward anyway. The skins will remain in the strainer, along with the seeds and pieces of pepper. If you are not straining it, peeling is worth considering: score the tomatoes, place them in boiling water for thirty seconds, then in cold water, and the skin will come off easily. For a small glass, we recommend straining, because a piece of skin sticking to your lip is exactly what you do not want.
Which vinegar do you use?
Sherry vinegar is essential and is the standard in southern Spain; it is mild and has some nutty depth. If you do not have it, use white wine vinegar and add it a little more cautiously because it is sharper. A useful ratio is one part vinegar to three parts olive oil. Start on the lower side: you cannot take it out, but you can always add more.
How many glasses do you get from one serving?
A 250-gram serving of tomatoes yields about two deciliters of soup. That is two to three shot glasses of seven or eight centiliters, or one wide glass as a starter. For drinks, allow two small glasses per guest and keep the rest in a jug in the refrigerator, so you can top up without the soup sitting lukewarm on the table.
Frequently asked questions
How long should gazpacho chill in the refrigerator?
At least two hours, and overnight is better. The soup comes out of the blender lukewarm and really needs to become cold, and during those hours the garlic, vinegar, and salt infuse properly. Taste it once more just before serving, because salt and acidity taste less intense when cold than when lukewarm.
Should you strain gazpacho?
For a small glass, yes. The tomato skins, seeds, and last pieces of pepper remain in the sieve, and those are exactly the things you feel when drinking it. Press the soup through a fine sieve with the rounded side of a spoon. If you eat it with a spoon from a bowl, you can skip this.
Which glass do you use for gazpacho?
For a drink, use a shot glass holding seven or eight centiliters: two or three sips, and it sits securely on a tray. As a starter, use a wide glass holding around twenty centiliters that can fit a small spoon. Thick glass keeps the soup cold for longer in both cases.
How long does gazpacho keep?
Covered in the refrigerator for two days. They are raw vegetables, so it should not sit on the counter in between; take it out only when you are about to pour it. After a day, the garlic will have become stronger, so taste it before topping up. You can freeze it, but the emulsion will break afterward and you will need to blend it again.
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