Best Gazpacho

I've made this twice. The first time I strained it, per recipe. It was good, seemed more like juice than gazpacho. Would probably be good with a little vodka and Tabasco. But I missed the fiber, so the next time I puréed the heck out of it, but did not strain. I liked it better. Drank the vodka straight. :)

I am from Madrid but spent almost all the summers before I was 28 yr-old in Andalucía, where I own a place. Your recipe is pretty accurate but I want to give you some feedback. First of all, I definitely use less oil. We also add a pinch of cumin and we leave half the peel of the cucumber on for better digestion. Last, we add the white center of days-old bread (a third or half of a French baguette-like) soaked in vinager, to the blender. The bread makes it really creamy, great use of old bread!

In short: Strain the soup. I learned by experience.

The first time, it seemed so nicely liquified, using the Vitamix, that I served it as was, seemingly delicious.

The second time I strained it and the soup was transformed. The flavors so precise, unusual in purity, they required no garnish, no drizzle, no crouton. The guests were in unanimous agreement on this point.

Other notes: go a bit shy with the sherry vinegar and salt, you can add more later if needed. A little goes a long way.

Ok,this is the second time that I made this with....hold your breath!! Canned San Marzano tomatoes! Gasp,cough,cough!! Turned out excellent each time and what a saver of time. Did not strain and I also put in a squeeze of tomato paste for good measure. Perfect!! Chilling now in the fridge, cheers!

Everyone liked it. A cautionary note- if you make it in the food processor, there is a reason for that Fill line marked at the bottom third of the plastic container - makes a big foamy mess all over your counter if you just fill the whole thing up with the ingredients and process away assuming nothing will run over.......

This is indeed how we make it in Seville! A few things -Smaller, sweeter varieties of tomato are usually better (juicy, not meaty...no beefsteak for example). -Flash boil the tomatoes to peel them (along with coring them) and you'll save yourself the step of straining, which some people say takes away from the flavor. -Remove the germ from your garlic, or you'll be tasting it all night. -The part about chilling at least 6 hours is bologna.. just chill till cold or stir in ice cubes.

Surprisingly authentic compared to most recipes. Not sure the onion belongs. Be careful with the pepper....omit if cubanelles are not available. A regular green bell pepper ruins the gazpacho.

Great recipe and very authentic to what I enjoyed in Barcelona. After rough chopping the vegetables (and by the way I prefer without the onion), I salt and leave for about an hour. This develops a ton more flavour. Then puree, making sure to add oil very slowly for a good emulsification. Finally I reserve small amount of the vegetables to fine chop and add at the end for a bit of texture (only if you're going to eat from a bowl rather than drink from a glass).

Gaspachamole. I added a dead ripe avocado and it whips into something airy. Doesn't need to be strained. Top with chimichurri as garnish. Not sure if it's soup, sauce or dip, but gracious it is good. Going to try it on polenta.

It's the real deal, this recipe. My mother in law living in Tarragona, Spain taught me to make it like this. Sometimes leaving out garlic, depending on the guests. I use a deep red bell pepper when I make it in the early summer, to sweeten the taste, when the tomatoes are still not fully ripened.

My go-to cold soup cheat: Left over tossed salad, clove of garlic, plain yoghurt. Blend. Done

I've made this recipe several times, and it seems to separate whenever the tomatoes, onion and/or cucumber are especially juicy. The thing to do, especially when working with ripe ingredients, is to add the olive oil in step 2 very, very slowly, making sure it fully emulsifies before adding more. On the other hand, if the gazpacho separates in the fridge, just give it a good stir with a wooden spoon before serving. It's still just as delicious (and nobody is any the wiser!).

If you can't get cubanelle peppers, you might try an Anaheim. Or use some sweet red pepper instead.

This is actually a great emergency dish: you don't need 6 hours ...

Once (emergency) I made it at 6 pm, put it in a metal bowl in the freezer, stirred twice, and enjoyed it an hour later (after stirring well to melt and incorporate the tiny frozen bits).

Also, if your tomatoes are not perfectly ripe and flavorsome, you can cheat by adding a bit of high quality tomato paste.

Straining makes this exceptionally lovely on the tongue.

I never liked gazpacho until we made this today from the first to ripen of our bumper crop of tomatoes. I could live on it, and might, expecting radiant health and a welcome weight loss (except on days I add vodka to it). Made exactly as written, using a Vidalia onion, cubanelle pepper and finishing it by liquefying in a standing blender. I prefer to drink it, and wouldn't add bread, which would dilute the pure and perfectly balanced vegetable flavors, and make it heavy. Thank you, Julia!