Tomatoes in abundance, it’s the time of year that I always anticipate to make a large batch of gazpacho. Refreshing and full of summer’s bounty, gazpacho is a delightful treat this time of year, highlighting numerous fresh vegetables. In an effort to make this a treat I could enjoy for a longer duration I tried my hand at fermenting a batch of gazpacho and the results were quite satisfactory.
Gazpacho is a cold Spanish based raw vegetable soup. It is widely consumed throughout Spain, Portugal and some parts of Latin America. There are a number of variations on this cold summer soup, originally it was an Arab soup that contained water, stale bread, olive oil and garlic. Thankfully, it has morphed into a more aromatic and flavorful soup. Traditionally, gazpacho is made by pounding the vegetables using a mortar and pestle. This method helps to avoid the foamy fully pureed versions you would get from using a food processor. However, a pureed version may be preferable to some. I have included instructions to make it 3 ways, chunky, pureed and fermented.
Gazpacho – 3 Ways
Serves 4-6
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced fine
4 tomatoes, seeded and diced
2 peppers, diced
1 small red onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 to 1 cup fresh herbs such as cilantro, basil, parsley,
chives, minced
24 oz. Knudsen’s Very Veggie Juice (or other vegetable
juice, preferably organic)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/4 cup of olive oil
Juice of one lime (optional)
Tabasco to taste (optional)
Pinch of chipotle powder (this is my preference, though it
is optional as well)
Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl and let sit for an hour for flavors to marry. Alternatively you can ferment this if you like, place the gazpacho mixture in quart jars and add 4 Tablespoons whey to each quart and 1 tablespoon salt to each.
Let sit for 2 days before transferring to cold storage. Or, you could puree the whole mixture in the food processor for a smoother gazpacho.
Serve with a dollop of Tzatziki or chopped avocados instead of the traditional stale bread crouton topping.
This recipe contributed to Monday Mania.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
If you want to ferment it – I would leave the vinegar out – the tang will be developed from the fermentation process. If you use a closed air system (like the Pickl-it jars) to lactofermented this – which I would recommend especially since this has a fruit base (tomato) than you can also leave out the whey. Yum!
Hmmm – I may be missing something here – but how are there three ways?
chunky, smooth or fermented – I hesitated to put ’3 ways’ in the title – I think I’ll change that now!
I have not yet tried the Pickl-it jars Lisa – I am a simple home fermenter to date. One of these days I just may get around to trying those jars. I appreciate your added thoughts on this recipe. Thanks!
Lydia,
These are totally geared to the simple home fermenter who wants to make true traditional ferments – I promise you that you will love it!
I was dubious at first – but the more I learned about the science behind it and saw what great consistent results I got – I was hooked. Plus the are super affordable and you can get all sorts of great sizes to everything from salsa to a large batch of kraut.
Thanks Lisa – I have considered it – maybe it’s almost time to take that leap!!